Fuel tankers evacuated from Tripoli port after shelling

Libyan Cloud News Agency – Tripoli

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced that fuel tankers have been evacuated urgently from Tripoli port and all offloading operations were cancelled after the shelling on the port.

NOC said that shells struck meters away from a highly explosive liquified petroleum gas (LPG) tanker discharging in the port.

NOC Chairman, Mustafa Sanalla, said that the attack on Tripoli port could have led to a humanitarian and environmental disaster.

“It will have a significant impact on a crowded region like Tripoli. The city does not have operational fuel storage facilities as the capital’s main storage warehouse was evacuated as a result of the fighting on Airport Road area,” he explained.

Sanalla added that the consequences of the shelling will be immediate as hospitals, schools, power stations and other vital services will be disrupted.

“We condemn this behaviour in the strongest possible terms and ask the international community to intervene rapidly to prevent a serious escalation in the conflict and to allow NOC to manage fuel supplies,” he went on.

Following the attack, the LPG tanker and a gasoline tanker that were in Tripoli immediately left the port for safe waters. NOC is exploring alternative ways to supply Tripoli and its surroundings with fuel.