The damaged Russian liquefied natural gas tanker that has been adrift in the Mediterranean for the past two weeks has now entered Libyan search and rescue waters, Italy's civil protection agency said on Wednesday.
The agency, which is monitoring the vessel, told Reuters that the most significant current risk is the potential release of gas, although no leaks have been detected so far.
"The dispersion of gas is a very concrete possibility," a spokesperson said, adding that it was still unclear how much gas remained aboard the ship, as two tanks were reported intact but some of the cargo may already have dispersed in the sea.
Italy, France, Spain and six other southern EU countries have warned in a letter to the European Commission that the Arctic Metagaz represents a major ecological threat and urged the EU to take action.
Italy's civil protection agency said any intervention on the tanker would now fall under Libyan authority due to its location, where sea conditions are currently rough.
The EU said the vessel was part of Russia's "shadow fleet" used to circumvent sanctions imposed after Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia's Foreign Ministry has acknowledged that the vessel was adrift in the Mediterranean and said Moscow's involvement in resolving the situation depended on "concrete circumstances".
Russia's Transport Ministry earlier this month said the Arctic Metagaz, carrying LNG from the Arctic port of Murmansk, was attacked by Ukrainian naval drones and said the weapons had been launched from the Libyan coast.
Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for any such attack.
(Reporting by Matteo Negri, editing by Alvise Armellini; Editing by Ros Russell)