UN blacklists tanker carrying ‘illegal’ Libyan oil near Malta

The United Nations Security Council has added a tanker carrying Libyan oil to its sanctions list in response to the latest dispute between competing powers in the North African country after Malta refused to allow the ship to dock.

The vessel Distya Ameya was added to the sanctions list on Wednesday after the Tripoli-based National Oil Corp. called the shipment illegal.

The Indian-flagged tanker left eastern Libya’s Hariga port after loading 650,000 barrels of crude on Monday.

After being refused entry to Malta, the ship was last reported anchored about 30 miles (50km) southeast of the Mediterranean island in international waters.

Bloomberg reported that oil company authorities in Tripoli have said they hoped international forces would seize the “illicit” cargo, and the UN decision could provide foreign governments the authority to do so. The sanctions take effect immediately and are valid until July 26, “unless terminated earlier,” according to a statement on the UN’s website. It said the ship “may have been sold recently to an unknown buyer, and the vessel’s name may have changed to Kassos.”

Libya, with Africa’s largest proven crude reserves, broke into two separately governed regions in late 2014, one centered around Tripoli in the west and the other an internationally recognized government in the east. Libyans are currently working with the support of the U.S. and European nations to set up a Government of National Accord.

The country’s divide has extended to the oil company.

The National Oil Corp.’s leadership in Tripoli, recognized by traders such as Glencore Plc and Vitol Group as the country’s official crude marketer, has repeatedly warned traders against loading “illicit” cargoes of oil from the company’s administration in the east.

The cargo refused by Malta had been sold to DSA Consultancy FZC, a company based in the United Arab Emirates, said Nagi Elmagrabi, head of the oil company in eastern Libya. The money for the shipment is due within a month and should be deposited into an account at Bank Al Etihad in Jordan, he said, without disclosing the amount.

“The ball is in the court of the international community,” Mohamed Elharari, spokesman for the company in Tripoli, said. “We are waiting for the coalition forces to return the cargo to Libya.”

DSA Consultancy, which operates from Dubai, said the cargo was legitimate. “DSA always work strictly within the local and international legal frameworks, as of today DSA is not in receipt of any legal basis for challenging the cargo’s legitimacy,” it said in an e-mailed response to questions.