The US Defense Department says its special forces have seized a tanker flying a North Korean flag. It was carrying oil from a Libyan port illegally controlled by anti-government rebels.
Department officials issued a statement on Monday. They said a special unit conducted the operation in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on Sunday night, US Eastern Time. The seizure was at the request of the Libyan interim government and other authorities.
The US officials said the unit is attached to a missile destroyer deployed in the sea and it carried out the mission with helicopter support. They noted no one was hurt.
The tanker had docked at Es Sider port in eastern Libya, which is controlled by anti-government forces. It left the port on March 11, carrying crude oil without permission from the Libyan government.
North Korea denies any involvement. US officials described the tanker as a stateless vessel.
They said the tanker will be headed for Libya under US Navy supervision.
The US government, along with the Libyan government, will investigate where the oil might be sold.
Source: NHK
