A product tanker has been strafed by the Libyan air forces amid tensions between rival political groups.
The 2004-built 35,000 dwt Anwaar Afriqya was attacked while being docked at Sirte.
IHS Maritime’s AISLive vessel-tracking data shows Anwaar Afriqya loaded gasoil in Piraeus, Greece, in mid-May and arrived in Sirte on 22 May.
The vessel, operated by state-owned General National Maritime Transport Co (GNMTC), was chartered by Libya’s National Oil Corporation.
According to media reports, one person was killed in the attack. The internationally recognised government in exile in Benghazi claimed that the vessel was carrying reinforcements and weapons for the rival regime in Tripoli.
“Our jets warned an unflagged ship off Sirte city, but it ignored the warning,” government official Saqer al-Joroushi told Reuters.
“We gave it a chance to evaluate the situation, then our fighting jets attacked the ship because it was unloading fighters and weapons.
“The ship is now on fire. We are in war and we do not accept any security breaches, whether by land, air, or sea.”
It is not the first time Anwaar Afriqya has been caught in the political tensions.
In March 2011, the tanker was hijacked by a group of armed rebels and diverted to the Port of Tobruk near the border with Egypt. The rebels eventually returned the tanker to GNMTC.
Earlier this month, Libyan forces bombed the 1997-built 5,100 dwt Cook Islands-flagged Tuna 1 in international waters as it approached the Port of Tobruk, killing the third officer.
Two tankers were bombed by Libyan forces in January, including the 1991-built 26,000 dwt Araevo, which is owned by Greece’s Aegean Oil. Two seafarers were killed in the attack.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
