An investigation into a tanker over alleged sanctions-breaking will start by Libya’s government will start an investigation after a period of quarantine ends in two weeks, the coast guard commander who seized the vessel said on Wednesday.
The coast guard at Misrata seized the Gulf Petroleum 4 three days ago, Rida Issa said, after the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said the tanker had broken an arms embargo and other international agreements by offloading jet fuel in Benghazi.
Benghazi is the seat of a parallel administration in the east whose Libyan National Army (LNA) has been trying for a year to capture the capital Tripoli, where the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) is based.
“Our patrols seized the Gulf Petroleum 4 ship three days ago after we received reports by NOC that the ship was carrying jet fuel from the port of Sharjah to the port of Benghazi,” said Issa, commander of the central region coast guard.
He said the tanker’s captain had said it had been carrying kerosene and had offloaded, but added that samples had been sent to the NOC laboratory at Brega for testing.
The vessel had a fuel leakage that caused a small fire and a burn injury to a crew member before the coast guard seized the ship, according to Issa.
A formal investigation will start after two weeks when a quarantine to prevent Coronavirus contagion ends, he said.
