LNG tanker hit by suspected cyberattack in Mediterranean Sea

Investing.com -- A liquefied natural gas tanker transporting fuel from the United States to Europe experienced a systems failure early this month that the crew reported as a suspected cyber attack, according to a Bloomberg report Friday.

The Vivit Africa LNG was sailing east in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas toward Italy when the crew suddenly lost access to some internal control systems, the report added.

Trading company Vitol Group reportedly confirmed it has the ship under a long-term lease known as a time charter but did not provide additional comments.

After stopping off the coast of Italy without unloading its cargo, the vessel on Wednesday began sailing away from its intended destination of Rovigo. The ship headed back toward the Spanish port of Algeciras near the entrance to the Mediterranean, according to shipping data compiled by Bloomberg.

The crew reported the incident early last week to Korean Register, the organization that serves as the technical and safety adviser to the South Korean-owned vessel. Investigations are ongoing. There are no indications of who the perpetrator of the suspected attack may be.

The suspected hacking follows other incidents in late August, when two oil and gas tankers off the US coast were boarded by the Coast Guard and Federal Bureau of Investigation due to potential cyberattacks. American officials are monitoring nearly 20 ships around the world for such threats.

The tanker was carrying a cargo loaded at Louisiana's Cameron LNG terminal, ship-tracking data show. It had sailed across the Atlantic and was nearing its destination in early September when the crew encountered the technical issues.

The Italian Coast Guard assisted the vessel "after the master reported a malfunction in the systems used to monitor cargo parameters, requiring intervention by the company's technicians," Captain Roberto D'Arrigo said in an emailed statement. The cause of the problem could not be identified and "the Chioggia Coast Guard intervened solely for navigation safety purposes, issuing an urgent notice to mariners to keep their distance."

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