US navy hands over runaway oil tanker to Libya

The US naval forces have handed over to Libya a runaway oil tanker carrying illegal crude from a militant-controlled oil port without permission of the Libyan government.

According to Press TV, the American Embassy in Libya said in a statement that the US navy handed over control of the Egyptian-owned vessel, dubbed the Morning Glory, to Libyan authorities on Saturday.

The statement said, “The handover took place in international waters off the coast of Libya, and the government of Libya and its security forces are now in control of the vessel.”

The US navy seized the Morning Glory, which was carrying illegal Libyan oil in the high seas off the southeast coast of Cyprus, on March 17.

On March 8, militia groups controlling Libya’s eastern port of al-Sidra loaded oil into the tanker, which had docked there without permission from the central government. The tanker later managed to slip through the Libyan naval brigade.