A French navy frigate hailed a tanker as it was on its way to load refined petroleum products from an eastern Libyan port, preventing it from reaching its destination and leaving it loitering offshore for almost a week, four Western diplomats told Bloomberg on Thursday.
The French Cassard class frigate “Jean-Bart” was on an EU mission named Irini that aims to enforce a weapons embargo on Libya and block illicit oil sales that could fund the warring parties, the people said, asking not to be named because the information hasn’t been made public.
The Jean-Bart approached the Jal Laxmi tanker on May 22 after Irini received information that it was headed to the port of Tobruk, as part of a sale of refined products to a company registered in the United Arab Emirates, the diplomats said. The tanker did not continue on its journey but remains in the area, they said.
France’s defense ministry didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the incident.
Source: Bloomberg