Libya stops second ship carrying contraband fuel to Malta

A second ship suspected of ferrying contraband diesel to Malta from Libya has been impounded in Tripoli. The Libya Herald said that the Panamanian-registered Levante was stopped by a Libyan patrol boat in Libyan waters and diverted to Tripoli harbour It was carrying 400 tonnes of contraband diesel fuel. A crew of seven Egyptians and a Maltese has been arrested. It was not clear whether the Maltese was a passenger, or whether he was involved in the alleged smuggling. Libyan news agency Lama was quoted by the newspaper as saying that the crew had admitted making four trips to Malta to smuggle fuel. On March 25 the Libyan authorities also stopped another vessel, the Fahd Al-Islam, on suspicion of ferrying contraband fuel to Malta. Its crew of several Egyptian men and one Maltese are still under arrest. A few days earlier, the Maltese authorities also impounded an Egyptian trawler in Marsamxett as it unloaded contraband fuel. At Libyan petrol stations, the pump price for 400 tonnes of diesel would be around €36,000. In Malta it could earn around €620,000, the Libyan newspaper said.