Turkish oil vessel seized off Libyan coast, 11 crewmembers held captives
A Turkish oil tanker has been seized in Zuwara, Libya.
The Turkish vessel, Haci Telli which has got 11 crew members who are all held captive, was seized after coming to Libya from Malta’s Valletta on February 11, the Deniz Haber Ajansi news agency reported Thursday.
On February 24, the vessel arrived at the Libyan port of Zuwarah, and six armed people boarded it as security guards in a standard procedure.
However, soon the armed people said they were detaining the ship. Part of the crew, 11 people, were captured and are held at a ship two nautical miles from the port.
According to the agency, the tenant of the ship owes the Libyan port about $433,000 for earlier bought oil.
The people who seized the tanker say they will hold the crew and later sell the vessel if the required sum is not paid to them. The tenant has presumably paid more than half of the sum.
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