Basem Dahan, a former member of the Zuwara Municipal Council, said that the wrecked Russian natural gas tanker is now only 44 kilometers from the city’s coast and is currently positioned opposite the Mellitah Oil and Gas Complex. Dahan added that the ship is drifting in a “south-westerly” direction due to the winds, while the relevant authorities are monitoring its movement, according to a post on his Facebook page on Monday.

The former municipal council member posted a video he filmed from a helicopter showing the tanker out at sea.

On Sunday, the Zuwara municipality said the tanker was heading northwest, currently about 65 kilometers from the coast, hours after the Coast Guard estimated it was just over 88 kilometers away, noting that its drift speed was 1.1 knots.

What happened to the Russian tanker?

The ship, which was carrying liquefied natural gas, sustained damage in early March in an attack suspected to have been carried out by a drone near Maltese waters. Moscow claims the ship was targeted by drones belonging to the Ukrainian Navy, while Kiev has not yet commented on these allegations.

A few days ago, the National Oil Corporation announced that it had contracted an international company specializing in handling incidents involving tankers and offshore platforms, to deal with the tanker and mitigate the risks of marine pollution.