US SEALs Seize Renegade Libya Oil Tanker

A team of US Navy SEALs took control of an oil tanker seized earlier March by three armed Libyans, the Pentagon announced Monday morning.

No one was hurt in the raid, which took place late Sunday in international waters off Cyprus. The ship and its illicit cargo of Libyan oil will be sailed back to Libya under the control of the US Navy, the ABC news informs.

A statement by the Cyprus Foreign Ministry confirmed the capture of the renegade vessel. “In the early hours of today, Morning Glory was seized by US Navy SEALs forces and according to the recent update is now heading east away from the island accompanied by the USS Roosevelt.”

The Morning Glory's evasion of a naval blockade at the eastern port of Sidra prompted Libya’s parliament to oust Prime Minister Ali Zeidan on Tuesday after rebels loaded crude onto the ship.

Although the vessel was flagged in North Korea, officials in Pyongyang said it had been deregistered because of the incident. It has allegedly been operated by an Egyptian company.

The US move is likely to act as a deterrent to any further attempts to illicitly buy oil from the rebel-controlled ports, according to the BBC.