Cyprus monitors tanker with oil from Libya

Cyprus said on Saturday it is monitoring the course of a tanker, which is suspected of transporting quantities of oil loaded at the Sidra port of Libya. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a request by the Libyan authorities and other neighboring countries was received on March 11 to provide assistance in returning the oil to Libya. The statement added that the "Morning Glory" tanker, suspected of carrying the oil cargo which has been provided by armed groups, was detected on Friday in international waters 18 nautical miles off theCypriot coast. "The tanker did not request for authorization to moor in a Cypriot port", the statement said The tanker changed its course sailing in international waters in a south-easterly direction on Saturday. The Ministry's statement said Cypriot authorities keep monitoring the course of the tanker in cooperation and coordination with other countries in the region and the Libyan government. The tanker had finished loading on March 10. Despite threats by Libyan authorities that they would bomb the ship if it attempted to sail out, the 37,000 ton vessel left port and slipped into international waters, prompting the Libyan parliament to vote the Prime Minister Ali Zaidan out of office on March 11. Zeidan fled via Malta the next day and later took refuge in an unnamed European country. The vessel was bearing DPRK flags, media reports said. However, the DPRK has denied any responsibility for the loading of the oil on the tanker and it was said to be linked to an Egyptian firm.