UN blacklists tanker carrying Libyan oil

The United Nations Security Council has blacklisted an Indian-flagged oil tanker for illegally carrying crude oil from a Libyan port controlled by militants.

The council put Indian-flagged Distya Ameya on its blacklist “based on information it received from the Libyan government” that the vessel was transporting oil in breach of a 2014 UN resolution banning shipments from militant-held ports.

Libyan authorities said the tanker, which left the eastern Libyan port of Hariga late on Monday, was carrying 650,000 barrels of crude oil bound for Malta.

Distya Ameya may have been sold recently to an unknown buyer and its name may have been changed to Kassos, they said.

Maltese national TV said the ship was in international waters near Malta. The island’s port officials said the tanker was not authorized to dock there and a request for docking would be rejected.

A Security Council diplomat said the tanker’s final destination could be the United Arab Emirates.

SS