Abandoned Tanker Drifts in Mediterranean, Raising Environmental Concerns
On 21 March, the crew of the non-profit rescue ship Seabird sighted something unusual in the Mediterranean. Instead of migrants looking for help, the Seabird had found the abandoned hulk of the Arctic Metagaz, a 277-metre-long tanker that had been drifting since it was damaged in a suspected Ukrainian drone attack near Malta in March.
The tanker, which set off from the Russian port of Murmansk in February for Port Said in Egypt, was believed to be carrying about 60,000 tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG), alongside 450 tonnes of fuel oil and 250 tonnes of diesel. Images shared by Sea-Watch, the civil sea rescue operator responsible for Seabird, show extensive damage to the vessel’s hull, raising concerns over an environmental catastrophe.
Shadow Fleet Grows in Importance
The Arctic Metagaz is a part of the so-called “shadow fleet”, which has grown in importance for Russia – and for other nations also subject to western sanctions. The fleet brings oil and gas to their customers around the world while evading these sanctions, which target ships known to have Russian links. This means the products in question are increasingly being transported by a network of ageing, poorly maintained and often uninsured vessels of unclear ownership.
Risks and Consequences
The fallout from these practices is increasingly causing problems for nations with little capacity to deal with them, often precisely because this state of affairs suits the shadow fleet’s purposes. These nations are typically in the Global South. The risks posed by these ships include severe environmental risks due to their lack of proper insurance, poor maintenance, and risky ship-to-ship oil transfers.
Experts Warn of Catastrophic Consequences
The LNG cargo of the Arctic Metagaz is highly flammable and explosive. “An uncontrolled structural failure of the remaining intact tanks would not produce a slow-spreading slick but rather a violent, instantaneous event,” explains Mark Spalding, president of The Ocean Foundation charity. He describes the Arctic Metagaz as a “loaded gun adrift in the Mediterranean”.
Original Article: Shadow fleet pollution is burdening under-resourced nations — Dialogue