Air Delivered event in Central Mediterranean Sea area, Libya on Tue 3rd March 2026

On 3 March 2026, an armed group suspected of being the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) attacked an LNG tanker belonging to Russia's 'shadow fleet' (tankers transporting oil and gas) off the coast of Libya, 130 nautical miles north of the Libyan port of Sirte, coded to the Central Mediterranean Sea. The LNG tanker Arctic Metagaz was in flames and suffered a large hole in the vessel's hull at the waterline. Several media outlets stated that naval drones carried out the attack, while the Russian Ministry of Transport claimed that Ukrainian unmanned vessels were used. Ukrainian authorities neither confirmed nor denied. The Maltese army stated that the vessel's crew was rescued, and two of the sailors were transferred to Benghazi for medical treatment. There were no fatalities.