Tanker carrying illegal Libya oil forced back to port

TRIPOLI — An Indian-flagged tanker has been forced to return a shipment of oil smuggled out of Libya thanks to international intervention, according to the country's National Oil Corporation (NOC).

"The Indian vessel Distya Ameya, which was illegally attempting to export Libyan oil, has this morning... returned its unlawful cargo to Libya," it said in a statement posted on Saturday on its website.

The NOC instructed the tanker to discharge at the Zawiya refinery west of Tripoli, where it will be used "for the benefit of all Libyans" in the cash-strapped country, it said.

"I would like to thank all the people involved for helping to bring about a swift and safe resolution of this matter," said NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanallah, praising the "action of the international community".

The United Nations on Wednesday added the Distya Ameya to a UN sanctions blacklist after it left Libyan shores bound for Malta.

A UN Security Council diplomat said the tanker's final destination could be the United Arab Emirates and that the cargo violated a ban on oil revenues to entities other than Libya's unity government.

The UN-backed government has been striving to assert its authority in a country which has been in turmoil since the 2011 revolt that killed dictator Muammar Qadhafi.