Libya threatens to bomb North Korea-flagged tanker

[EC]

Via the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26495625

Libya's prime minister has threatened to bomb a North Korean-flagged tanker if it tries to export oil from a rebel-controlled port.

Ali Zeidan said that orders had been issued to arrest the tanker's crew.

Earlier separatist militants said they had started loading oil on to the tanker at Sidra port, east of Tripoli.

The rebels have seized three major ports since August, to demand more autonomy, hampering the government's ability to revive oil exports.
'First shipment'

The Morning Glory docked at Sidra port earlier on Saturday, after a failed attempt to dock on Tuesday.

A local TV station showed footage of the rebels holding a ceremony to celebrate.

"We started exporting oil. This is our first shipment," a rebel spokesman said.

Libyan officials said the rebel move was an "act of piracy".

Analysts have said it is unlikely the ship is owned or controlled by Pyongyang.

Lawrence Dermody, a researcher in illicit trafficking for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, told the BBC: "It's much more likely that it's a flag of convenience," adding that "it's really not a common flag - even in the Middle East."

More at link.

[EC]

Libya says its forces now near oil tanker
Associated Press
10 minutes ago

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libya's government says its forces are besieging the North Korea-flagged tanker that an eastern militia wanted to use to export oil.

Al-Habib al-Amin, the country's culture minister and a top aide to Libya's prime minister, told reporters in a televised news conference Sunday that government force including navy vessels are near the tanker at al-Sidra port.

Al-Sidra is one of the country's biggest oil terminals and has been under militias' control since the summer.

The remarks came shortly after Libya's Defense Ministry ordered its naval and air forces to use force against the tanker.

Illegal exports of oil by eastern militiamen are Libya's latest crisis. Prime Minister Ali Zidan's government, parliament and militias compete for authority in the security vacuum that followed the 2011 fall of dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

http://news.yahoo.com/libya-says-forces-now-near-oil-tanker-140600174.html