NOC, through its subsidiary Mellitah Oil & Gas, and in cooperation with its strategic partner Eni, has hired an international company specializing in incident response for tankers, offshore oil platforms, and similar vessels that could lead to oil spills at sea.
According to a statement by NOC, the emergency contract was issued in response to the Russian tanker that was recently damaged off the Libyan coast, leaving it unable to be controlled.
NOC noted the vessel is carrying a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
“Once it became clear that the damaged vessel was gradually nearing the Libyan coast due to wind and wave conditions, NOC moved quickly to limit the damage caused by its presence in Libyan territorial waters and to reduce the risk of pollution along the Libyan coastline,” it said.
NOC said the vessel will be towed safely to one of the Libyan ports following coordination with the relevant authorities, specifically the Ports Authority.
The company said that all “Libyan oil facilities, from offshore platforms to ports, are protected against any pollution or related risks.”
An emergency team has been established to coordinate all operations, with direct oversight from the chairman of the board of directors, in close coordination with the competent authorities in the country, NOC said.
Arctic LNG 2
“On March 3, in close proximity to the territorial waters of the member state of the European Union, the Republic of Malta, an attack was carried out on a Russian vessel, the gas carrier Arctic Metagaz,” the Russian transport ministry said in a statement earlier this month.
“The tanker was en route with cargo, documented in accordance with all international regulations, from the port of Murmansk. The attack on it was carried out from the coast of Libya by Ukrainian unmanned boats,” the ministry said.
“Thanks to the coordinated actions of the Maltese and Russian rescue services, all 30 crew members, citizens of Russia, have been rescued,” the ministry said.
The ministry said that it classifies this incident as an “act of international terrorism and maritime piracy, a gross violation of the fundamental norms of international maritime law.”
Previous reports also suggested that the LNG carrier sank after an explosion and massive fire.
Images of Arctic Metagaz show that the LNG carrier suffered a large hull breach.
It appears that two of its four LNG storage tanks remain intact.
The LNG carrier last reported its position as sailing off the coast of Malta on March 2, according to its AIS data provided by VesselsValue.
The vessel loaded LNG at the 361,600-cbm Saam FSU, located in Ura Bay near Russia’s Murmansk, and sailed around the United Kingdom and Spain into the Mediterranean.
Arctic Metagaz, previously known as Metagas Everest, has been sanctioned by the US and the UK as it is used to transport sanctioned LNG from Novatek’s Arctic LNG 2 facility to buyers at China’s Beihai terminal.
