Navy SEALs Sunday boarded and took control of a commercial oil tanker that had been seized by armed militia members in a bid to sell the Libyan oil on the black market.
It was not immediately known whether the SEALs involved in the action were from the base in Coronado.
No one was hurt in the operation, the Pentagon said, adding that a team of sailors will take the tanker to a Libyan port. The tanker, Morning Glory, is carrying oil owned by Libya’s National Oil Company.
The Pentagon said that the operation was carried out in international waters southeast of Cyprus at the request of the Libyan and Cypriot governments.
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt provided an embarkation point for the SEALs as well as helicopter support .
“The Morning Glory is carrying a cargo of oil owned by the Libyan government National Oil Company. The ship and its cargo were illicitly obtained from the Libyan port of As-Sidra,” said Rear Adm. John Kirby in a statement.
The tanker hadescaped a Libyan naval blockade around the port of Sidra, which is being held by militias who are demanding autonomy for eastern Libya. The rebels have seized oil export terminals in the port.
