Russian Tanker Arctic Metagaz Drifts Towards Benghazi as Haftar’s Forces Struggle to Respond
The Russian tanker Arctic Metagaz has now drifted towards the eastern Libyan coast. At the same time, forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar appear still uncertain how to handle the unfolding maritime incident.
New footage released by the eastern Libyan navy on 6 April provides the clearest and most detailed images yet of the tanker since it first began drifting in the Mediterranean. The images, described as the most spectacular so far, show the vessel still afloat and moving in relatively calm sea conditions, aided by a temporary high-pressure weather window over the central Mediterranean.
According to the latest official information, the tanker was located approximately 70 miles northwest of Benghazi on 6 April. Despite improved weather, there is still no confirmation that towing operations have resumed, and the official language from Haftar’s command strongly suggests the authorities are still assessing the situation rather than acting decisively.
This is not the language of a force fully in control. It is the language of a command structure still trying to determine its next move.
A Commission Formed Because the Situation Is Not Under Control
In a statement issued by Haftar’s General Staff at 20:34 CEST on 6 April, and released together with the video footage, eastern Libyan authorities announced the creation of a special commission to monitor developments surrounding the distressed tanker.
The commission has reportedly been established under the directives of the General Command and the General Staff, and is chaired by the Chief of Staff of the Navy. It also includes the Commander of the Naval Special Forces, the Commander of the Coast Guard, and the Director of the Ports and Maritime Transport Authority, all operating under the direct supervision of the Deputy General Commander.
Such a broad structure would not normally be assembled in a routine situation. The formation of a high-level commission indicates that the drifting tanker has already become a matter of military, logistical, and political sensitivity for the authorities controlling eastern Libya.
The statement explicitly acknowledges that the Arctic Metagaz has gone out of control and drifted to an estimated position around 70 nautical miles northwest of Benghazi.
Naval Patrols, Divers, and a Vessel Without AIS
The Libyan response has included dispatching the naval vessel Benina, accompanied by a specialised team of divers, to monitor the tanker’s condition and assess the risks it may pose.
Their task is not simply technical. According to the statement, they have also been ordered to guide passing vessels away from the area to prevent a secondary maritime incident. In other words, the drifting tanker is now being treated as a navigational hazard in waters that are already politically sensitive and strategically exposed.
Adding to the episode’s unusual character is the reported presence of the patrol vessel TBZ15, linked to the Tariq Ben Zeyad militia. According to the information circulating with the footage, the vessel is not traceable and is sailing without an active AIS transponder.
That detail should not be dismissed lightly.
A militia-linked vessel operating near a drifting Russian tanker without active AIS raises obvious questions—not merely about maritime safety, but about the opaque military and logistical networks that increasingly dominate eastern Libya’s coastline. In normal circumstances, such a vessel would already attract scrutiny. In the context of a distressed Russian tanker drifting near a coast controlled by Haftar’s forces, it becomes far more politically significant.
More Than a Maritime Accident
At first glance, the Arctic Metagaz incident may appear to be just another case of a ship in distress. It is not.
This episode sits at the intersection of Russian maritime presence, Haftar’s semi-state military structures, and the increasingly blurred line between official naval authority and militia power in eastern Libya.
The fact that the vessel is described as a Russian tanker, combined with the involvement of forces aligned with Haftar, gives the story a geopolitical weight that extends well beyond the technical question of whether the ship can be stabilised or towed.
Eastern Libya is not an ordinary coastline. It is a zone where formal state institutions, military factions, foreign patrons, and opaque security networks coexist in a fragile and often deliberately ambiguous arrangement. That is precisely why an incident like this matters.
The continued drifting of the Arctic Metagaz is not simply a navigational problem. It is a reminder of how unstable and untransparent power remains in the central Mediterranean.