Malta-flagged tanker owners deny claims that vessel is chartered by Libya

The ship, 'Mubariz Ibrahimov' has been held in Malta since yesterday after emptying its cargo of 7,000 tonnes of fuel at the Oil Tanking Terminal in Kalafrana.

The ship owners, Palmali of Turkey have categorically denied that the ship or its cargo has been chartered by Libya as is being alleged by a number of Libyan dissidents residing in Malta.

As the Libyans protested outside the Oil Tanking comples in Kalafrana, the police engaged in talks with the ship owners, however the Libyans took the matter to the Law Courts late last night asking for an injunction.

Lamlum Khaled Yussef, who has fronted the case on behalf of the Libyan dissidents asked the court to halt the departure of the 'Mubariz Ibrahim' for at least 24 hours, and argued that on behalf of his fellow countrymen, he must be assured that the ship would leave Malta empty, by being allowed to follow the whole process of de-bunkering.

The Attorney General has asked for time to be able to seek clarifications and to be given 24 hours to collect all necessary information.

MaltaToday is informed that the Maltese government was asked to look into the possibility of close Gaddafi aides seeking to purchase fuel through Malta by a defected Libyan diplomat at the United Nations in New York.

According to sources, the diplomat alerted the Maltese authorities about the possibility on the presence in Malta of Yahia Ibrahim Gaddafi, described by Echorouk online as being “the man entrusted with ensuring the transport of highly-paid foreign mercenaries starting from Morocco through the Morocco-based Libyan oil firm Tamoil", which allegedly supplies cash to the recruiters of mercenaries from the African continent.

Two independent sources have confirmed to MaltaToday that Yahia Ibrahim Gaddafi has been contacting local companies and guaranteeing “cash payments” for shipments of petrol to be sent to Brega in Libya.

However, a hotel source told MaltaToday there was "nobody with a Libyan passport" on their guest-list, and was not in a position to confirm if Gaddafi was staying at the St Julian's hotel.

Yahia Ibrahim Gaddafi is listed by Zawya.com as the main representative of the Brega Petroleum Marketing Company.

MaltaToday is reliably informed that the Maltese police are alerted about the presence of Ibrahim Yahia Gaddafi and have so far not determined his presence on the island, and are seeking verifications if the man is holding a different identity.

Libyan dissidents residing in Malta are certain that Yahia Ibrahim Gaddafi is in Malta and is accompanied by three security guards. He is said to be equipped with a Thuraya satellite phone, and is also in regular contact with Tripoli.

The man is said to be seeking the refined petrol and diesel to be able to keep the supply going to Gaddafi loyal forces, since all refineries have been shut down and ships contracted to transport purchased fuel have been captured by rebels.

A number of Libyan dissidents have staged a protest at the Oil Tanking Terminal in Kalafrana, and have urged the Maltese government not to allow a Turkish-owned but Malta-flagged oil tanker 'Mubariz Ibrahimov' to leave Malta, as it is suspected that it will be transporting a consignment of fuel to Libya to be used by the Gaddafi loyal troops.

The Libyans insist that the fuel will be used to kill fellow Libyans.

According to information received by the dissidents, the ship and its fuel cargo have been 'chartered' by Gaddafi's cousin and "whatever the Captain says, it will be going to Libya."

Contacted by MaltaToday, the ship owners Palmali have categorically denied any connection to Libya and stressed that the ship will leave for the Black Sea. "We have a manifest and the fact is that we have absolutely no connection with Libya, and our ship will head straight for the Black Sea and nowhere else," a company spokesman said.

Again contacted this morning, the ship owners have stressed that the ship is to leave Malta "in ballast" and not laden with any cargo.

One such ship the 'Anwar Afriqiya' was seized by rebels only yesterday, while another two ships reported to have set sail from Greece are being monitored as they sail towards Libya.

Gaddafi's cousin from his father's side is said to be in charge of the running from Morocco of theTamoil affairs, which has subsidiaries in 22 African states.

Libya also has refinery operations in Europe through its overseas oil retail arm, Tamoil. Through Tamoil, Libya is a direct producer and distributor of refined products in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Egypt.