By Libya Herald reporters.
Tripoli, 2 March 2017:
A small Turkish tanker has been seized by armed men in Zuwara and the eleven crew members taken prisoner.
The MV Haci Telli from the Turkish port of Tuzla is reported to have docked in Zuwara six days ago. The eight-year old, 2,800 tonne vessel was taken over and the crew arrested yesterday. One source said that the owners of the tanker owed $433,000 for past oil shipments.
Because of the limited and damaged capacity of Libya’s refineries, large quantities of refined petroleum product have to be imported. No exact figures are ever released.
If it is correct that the Haci Telli has been detained over an unpaid debt, then the vessel would appear to have picked up a cargo from Libya for sale somewhere else.
It is being suggested that the crew and the vessel have been arrested over a product smuggling deal that had gone wrong. The vessel’s next destination was shown on the FleetMon website as Malta.
