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By Ayman Amzein.
Benghazi, 8 March 2014:
A sum of $35 million has allegedly been paid for a shipment of crude illegally being . . .[restrict]loaded at the Es-Sider oil export terminal today.
A source close to Ibrahim Jadhran, the self-styled leader of the federalist movement that has closed oil fields and facilities and created the ‘government of Cyrenaica’, told the Libya Herald that the sum had been paid into a bank in Beida.
A North Korean-flagged tanker docked at 6am today and spokesperson for the so-called ‘government of Cyrenaica’ Ali El-Hassi said it had successfully loaded a shipment of the equivalent of 350,000 barrels of oil by early evening.
There are reports, however, that the tanker did not actually start loading until 8pm. A well-placed shipping source said that the captain had wanted to leave without the oil but that the crew were threatened and forced to start loading operations.
A number of sources, including a member of the General National Congress, said that, although sailing under the flag of North Korea, the vessel was owned by a Saudi Arabian businessman.
The Saudi Arabian Embassy, however, released a statement today saying the oil tanker was not in any way connected to the Kingdom.
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said that military action would be taken against the vessel if it did not follow instructions from the Libyan Navy. [/restrict]
