| CNN | - |
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Libya's
prime minister threatened Saturday night to bomb a North Korean-flagged
ship that had entered a rebel-held oil port, calling the ship's arrival
there a "violation of international law.
Libyan leader threatens to bomb North Korean oil tanker
updated 9:36 PM EST, Sat March 8, 2014
Meet the militiaman holding Libya's oil
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- A North Korean-flagged tanker enters a rebel-held oil port in eastern Libya
- Prime minister: It "will be bombed" if the ship's captain doesn't follow orders
- The captain allegedly said militia on board the vessel didn't let him leave the port
- Libya hasn't been able to profit from its immense oil resources due to instability
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan
said if the ship does not follow orders, "it will be bombed and this
could lead to an environmental disaster."
The vessel, dubbed
Morning Glory, docked late Friday night in the oil port of As-Sidra.
Zeidan said the ship's captain subsequently was warned by phone, though
the captain responded that local militia on board did not allow them to
depart.
Libyan government
officials spoke with diplomats at North Korea's embassy in Tripoli,
Zeidan said. He added that information showed a "Gulf nation" owned the
ship and that it is registered in North Korea. A spokesman for Libya's
National Oil Corporation indicated the tanker was Saudi owned, but Saudi
Arabia's embassy released a statement saying it had nothing to do with
the ship.
In addition, an arrest
warrant has been issued for the oil tanker's captain and "the use of
armed force, as necessary," has been authorized, according to Zeidan.
The situation speaks to
the unsettled situation in the North African nation, which the
government is struggling to control more than two years after the ouster
of longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
In this case, the issue
centers around the oil-rich eastern part of the country and one man in
particular, Ibrahim Jadran. The militia leader was entrusted by the
government to safeguard crucial oil ports. But last July, Jadran and his
men seized them, blocking oil exports, and demanded more autonomy and
shared revenues for his eastern region.
"We used to be part of
that government until the corruption became so visible, and the
government started to sell oil without measuring units, and after we
became certain that such a government is not credible and unable to
rebuild the state," the 32-year-old Jadran told CNN's Christiane
Amanpour in January. "That's why we declared independence of our
province and we started to seek our fair rights."
There is a lot at stake,
given the Libyan government's precarious state and the wealth of
natural resources in the country. Libya is thought to have Africa's
largest proven oil reserves. The country produced 1.6 million barrels
per day after the revolution only to have that output slow to a relative
trickle of fewer than 200,000 barrels per day by the end of last year.
The government has said
the disrupted oil production, from seizures of ports as well as protests
and strikes at other oil facilities, is costing the country $130
million a day.
Saturday night's threat
against the North Korean-flagged vessel isn't the first time Libya's
government has threatened force against ships that enter the eastern oil
ports.
On several occasions, authorities have issued ultimatums to such ships, only to have those deadlines come and go with no action.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reported from Libya and CNN's Greg Botelho reported and wrote from Atlanta.
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