Armed guards at the Libyan port of Ras Lanuf have fired live rounds and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) in a bid to deter a general cargoship from loading scrap metal.
Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) said the 11,300-dwt Mohammed Bey (built 1991) had been scheduled to enter the commercial section of the port on Friday. The vessel had arrived from Tunisia.
"However, a group of armed men under the command of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) — including foreign mercenaries — forced the ship into port," NOC added.
"They intimidated the crew of the Mohammed Bey by firing live rounds and RPG shells in an area where dangerous and highly flammable materials are stored."
AIS data showed the vessel, operated by Cedar Marine Services of Lebanon, moored in the port on Tuesday morning.
No casualties
"This is the latest in a series of failures of the so-called PFG," said NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla.
"They have once again shown their utter lack of professionalism. Mercifully, there were no casualties but this type of unacceptable behaviour could have led to human and environmental disaster."
Sanalla reiterated his call for the international community to support immediate demilitarisation of all petroleum facilities in Libya.
The country's civil war has continued to effect shipping this year.
Italian tanker allowed in
At the end of August, a Navigazione Montanari product tanker was allowed into Libya's eastern Brega port to load condensate.
The rare docking was sanctioned by the Libyan National Army (LNA), a rebel militia fighting the UN-backed Government of National Accord that has blockaded five eastern ports on and off since January.
The 43,000-dwt Valle Di Siviglia (built 2001) arrived at the request of NOC.
The LNA had earlier said it would reopen Libya’s oil ports for a short time to empty crude and condensate tanks.
The LNA has blockaded five eastern ports on and off since January, including Ras Lanuf.
In July, NOC had to declare force majeure once again on its oil exports after eastern terminals were shut down after a brief reopening.
NOC's crude output amounted to 1.22m barrels per day (bpd) in early 2020 and the company was targeting a rise in production to 2.1m bpd by 2024.
But Sanalla has admitted NOC could struggle to produce 650,000 bpd in 2022 following the recent conflicts.
