A drone has ''crashed'' near one of the fuel storage tanks at the Airport Road Fuel Depot in Tripoli, Brega Petroleum Marketing Company, a subsidiary of the National Oil Corporation, has confirmed.
It is unclear if the drone was armed or if it is also a fibre-optic type drone, similar to the ones used in the Zawia attacks in August.
No damage, fire, injuries or fatalities are reported.
In its statement, Brega Petroleum Marketing Company condemned in the strongest terms the attack that targeted the Tripoli Oil Depot at dawn today, ‘‘after an unidentified flying object—suspected to be a drone—entered the depot's airspace and crashed near one of the storage tanks’’.
The company confirmed that no injuries were reported because of the incident, and that specialized teams and relevant authorities have initiated necessary measures and secured the site.
To reassure the public, Brega Petroleum Marketing Company confirmed that operational activities, as well as fuel distribution and supply operations, are proceeding normally and without interruption; the incident has not affected workflow or the fulfilment of scheduled orders for fuel stations.
The company commended the rapid response of the relevant security and military authorities and their immediate arrival at the depot upon being notified of the incident, emphasizing the importance of intensifying efforts to protect oil depots and facilities as vital national assets.
The company also called upon the competent authorities to launch a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of the incident, identify those responsible, and take the necessary legal action against them.
Brega Petroleum Marketing Company reaffirmed that the safety of personnel and oil facilities, along with the continuity of supply and distribution operations, remains a top priority. It pledges to continue its full cooperation with the relevant authorities to ensure the security and safety of its facilities and the continued performance of its national duties.
Drone attacks on Zawia fuel storage depot
It will be recalled that today’s drone attack comes less than a month after an armed drone attack took place on a diesel tank on the Fuel Depot in Zawia Oil Refinery on 11 August.
The attack caused an explosion, setting the 17 million litre tank on fire and causing the tank to burnout and collapse. Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to other nearby tanks in the depot.
An earlier drone attack, on 8 August, on another fuel tank in the same Zawia Depot had simply punctured another tank causing it to leak.
There then followed drone attacks on Zawia’s nearby Power Station and the nearby Water Desalination Plant.
It is unclear if today’s Tripoli drone attack is a continuation of the Zawia drone attack operations or a copy-cat operation.
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