U.S. Navy SEALs boarded and took control of an oil tanker late Sunday that escaped earlier this month from a Libyan port with armed men at the helm, the U.S. Department of Defense said.
Libyan anti-government rebels, who are calling for a greater share of oil wealth and autonomy, had managed to load crude oil onto the 37,000-ton tanker, which escaped the Libyan Navy, embarrassing the weak central government and prompting parliament to vote the prime minister out of office.
No one was hurt in the boarding operation, approved by U.S. President Barack Obama, requested by the Libyan and Cypriot governments and conducted in international waters southeast of Cyprus, the Pentagon said.
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