Update 4 | Government monitoring 'Malta-bound' east Libyan oil shipment

The Maltese government is in contact with the authorities and “interested countries” over the reported sale of crude oil by the government in eastern Libya to a company based in the United Arab Emirates.

The National Oil Corp, based in Tripoli, has called the shipment “illegal” and has tried to stop the shipment from leaving the Marsa al-Hariga port near the Egyptian border.

Informed sources have told MaltaToday that the Distya Ameya was not authorised to enter Maltese territorial waters.

Transport Malta, a regulator for shipping, said the Indian-flagged Distya Ameya was either out of the Malta Vessel Traffic Services range or not transmitting its position.

“To date, there was no communication from the ship or its representatives with Transport Malta,” the authority told MaltaToday. “In any case, the vessel will be restricted entry in Maltese territorial waters. Transport Malta is liaising with the Armed Forces of Malta and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.”

A spokesperson for the Armed Forces of Malta confirmed that the army was monitoring the movements of the vessel. “The AFM is working in close liaison with the respective competent authorities including Transport Malta and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the spokesperson said.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs confirmed that the Maltese government had been informed of the case and was in contact with the authorities “and countries interested in how the case is developing”.

“The Maltese authorities are ready to take all necessary action based on how the case evolves. There is a continuous exchange of information between the countries involved and the Maltese authorities,” a spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Ministry told MaltaToday.

The NOC is Libya’s internationally recognised oil company. Libya’s laws stipulate that all of the country’s oil must be pumped and sold via the NOC. According to the Wall Street Journal, if completed, “the delivery would create a lucrative revenue stream for Libya’s eastern government”.

If successful, the sale risks endangering the tenuous peace process between the east and west side, the latter enjoying the support of the United Nations.

Mohamed Elharari, an NOC spokesperson, told Bloomberg that the national company had informed the UN-backed unity government of the eastern leadership’s attempt to export oil independently.

According to various news outlets, the tanker Distya Ameya loaded 650,000 barrels of crude pumped from the Messla and Sarir oil fields at eastern Libya’s Hariga port.

“The ship sailed Monday to Malta, with the cargo sold to DSA Consultancy FZC, a company based in the United Arab Emirates,” Bloomberg was told.

Reuters reported that Libya has complained to the Security Council sanctions committee about the rival eastern Libyan government's first shipment of crude oil and requested the blacklisting of the Indian-flagged ship.

"We mainly asked the designation of the ship pursuant to paragraph 11 of resolution 2146," Libyan Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi told Reuters. "We spoke with members of the Indian Mission and gave them the letter we sent to the sanctions committee."