Ukraine behind 'terrorist' attack on Russian gas tanker, Putin says

Updated 7.25pm with Putin comments.

Ukraine was behind an attack that sank a Russian gas carrier between Libya and Malta on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

"This is a terrorist attack. This isn't the first time we've seen this kind of thing," Putin told a reporter from Russian state television, accusing Kyiv of being responsible.

The Libyan port authority said the Russian carrier, Arctic Metagaz, sank after "sudden explosions" north of the port of Sirte.

The ship "had experienced sudden explosions followed by a massive fire, which ultimately led to its complete sinking" on Tuesday night, it said.

Moscow said the tanker had been attacked by Ukrainian drones in "an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy".

"The attack (on the tanker) was launched from the Libyan coast by Ukrainian naval drones," the Russian transport ministry said earlier on Wednesday.

Times of Malta mapped the location of the vessel at 4.09pm on Tuesday

The Arctic Metagaz is believed to have been struck in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Aerial images sent to Times of Malta show the struck Russian shadow fleet tanker Arctic Metagaz on Tuesday afternoon, hours after it was damaged in an alleged attack.

The images, taken at 4.09pm on Tuesday, show how the gas tanker suffered extensive damage, with a ruptured gas cell and water gushing into a gaping hole in its flank.

The images are believed to have originated from a Turkish maritime patrol aircraft.

Maritime security experts who spoke to Times of Malta described how the ruptured gas cell would have led the ship to burn.

The images do not provide evidence of what caused the damage, experts say, with it remaining unclear whether the tanker suffered an attack from a single large device or multiple smaller devices.

Times of Malta is meanwhile informed that a second Russian fleet tanker, the Kareliya, which was travelling just south of Malta’s shores, switched off its satellite signal on Tuesday, possibly fearing that it could also be a target.

Marine traffic maps show the Kareliya’s last known position roughly 28 nautical miles to Malta’s south-eastern coast at just before 11am on Tuesday.

The tanker had been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union.

Unverified footage and photos circulating on social media since Tuesday night showed a massive explosion at sea.

The Libyan port authority said the ship was carrying an estimated 62,000 metric tons of LNG on its way to Port Said, Egypt.

The Russian ministry said it had departed from the northern Russian port of Murmansk.

All 30 crew members have been rescued, Moscow said.

The Libyan port authority said the wreckage took place between Libya and Malta "within the Libyan search-and-rescue zone... approximately 130 nautical miles (240 kilometres) north of the port of Sirte".

It warned all ships against approaching the wreckage site, citing the risks of collision and security concerns.

The Libyan National Oil Corporation said in a statement that the carrier was only transiting through the central Mediterranean and had "nothing to do" with it.

"Traffic in Libyan ports continues normally and regularly," it said, adding that the incident had "no impact on the flow of oil and gas supplies or the supply of fuel to the local market".