Libyan navy receives oil tanker morning glory

Spokesman of the Libyan Naval Force Ayyoub Qasim said Saturday the Libyan Navy took control of the oil tanker Morning Glory, captured by the US Navy off Cyprus late last Sunday."Three Libyan vessels set sail early this morning to a point in the sea, jointly specified with the US Navy and boarded the oil tanker," he said.The Libyan taskforce controlled the tanker and detained its 21-strong crew made up of six Pakistanis, six Indians, three Sri Lankans, and two from each of Syria, Sudan and Eritrea."The oil tanker is en route to Al-Zawya seaport, north Libya," the spokesman said, noting that the crew will be referred to the relevant Libyan authorities for interrogations. In a related development, director of the maritime operations at the seaport Abdullah Al-Rashed told KUNA that Morning Glory is now three nautical miles away from Al-Zawya but was told to change destination."Under instructions of the Libyan authorities the oil taker is heading to Tripoli seaport for safety considerations," he pointed out. After completing the interrogations with the crew according to the international regulations, the oil taker will be back to Al-Zawya, Al-Rashed added. The North Korea-flagged ship had illegally entered the Libyan territorial waters on March 10 and docked at the eastern El-Sider port, controlled by a rebel militia, where it was loaded with some 234,000 barrels of oil.