On March 3, 2026, the Russian gas tanker "Arctic Metagaz" was subjected to an armed attack in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea near Malta. According to PJSC Sovcomflot, the incident is classified as a terrorist act against a civilian commercial vessel.
The company's CEO, Igor Tonkovidov, stated that the incident constitutes a gross violation of international maritime law, including the principles of freedom of navigation, protection of human life, and protection of the marine environment.
I hope that the unprecedented act of aggression against a peaceful merchant ship at the crossroads of busy trade routes in the very center of the Mediterranean Sea, and the subsequent refusal of the authorities of the EU state, near whose coast the attack occurred, to provide assistance to the affected Russian sailors will receive a fair assessment in the professional maritime community and will become the subject of serious discussion at the interstate level, including within the International Maritime Organization
According to available information, thanks to the actions of the crew and the crew of another Russian merchant ship that happened to be nearby, human casualties were avoided. Two injured sailors were evacuated and taken to a medical facility in Benghazi (Libya), where they received the necessary assistance.
The head of Sovcomflot emphasized that the civilian fleet provides up to 90% of world trade, and any acts of aggression against commercial vessels on key logistics routes create systemic risks for the global supply chain. He criticized a number of Western industry publications for trying to present the incident as "spontaneous combustion," noting that such a presentation distorts the facts and undermines confidence in professional journalism.
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