Cartagena

$14,500, for 6 months trading, to SCORPIO

The "Cartagena" entered the port of Bengasi in the midday hours of Aug 3, 2011, with a cargo of more than 40.000 tons benzol, escorted by NATO forces. The cargo had been loaded in the Turkey in May, having been delivered by a Swiss company and destined for Tripoli. Instead the ship headed for Tripolis to discharge the oil in Zawiyah. After another Libyan tanker was seized in May, the ship remained on sea position and later tried to reach Annaba as Algeria still supports the Gaddafi regime. After port entry was denied, the ship returned to the region of Malta where it was boarded by Libyan rebels jointly with NATO-forces withh an unlit boat flying the Libyan flag. The ship then headed for Bengasi.

Suspected Libyan rebels have seized a gasoline tanker off Malta, sources familiar with the situation say, TVNZ reports. The vessel was sailing for Benghazi, stronghold of forces opposed to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The Cartagena was anchored on Hurd's Bank just outside Maltese territorial waters when it was approached by a Libyan flagged tugboat and boarded at about 2am on Wednesday, said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified. The vessel belongs to the Libyan government's shipping arm, the General National Maritime Transport Company. More at http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/libyan-rebels-suspected-tanker-seizure-4339251