On January 10, the Greek authorities seized the Tanzanian-flagged ship “Andromeda” that was carrying explosive materials on its way to the Libyan city of Misurat, according to Reuters. The Greek authorities reportedly found 29 containers carrying ammonium nitrate, non-electric detonators and 11 empty liquefied petroleum gas tanks while inspecting the ship after it had been intercepted near the Greek island of Cretet.
Greek Navy Rear Admiral Ioannis Argiriou told reporters that the materials that were sized on the ship could be used “for all sorts of work, from work in quarries to making bombs and acts of terrorism”.
The investigation revealed that the ship was loaded with the explosive materials in the Turkish ports of Mersin and Iskenderun. Moreover, the ship operators hid its real destination by providing a fake path toward Djibouti and Oman.
The Libya city of Misurat is under the control of the Libyan Government of National Accord (LGNA) that’s mainly backed by Turkey and Qatar. The LGNA is also linked to several terrorist organizations including the Shura Council of Mujahedeen in Derna. This could mean that the explosive materials were indeed meant for military use by the LGNA-linked armed groups.
Since the outbreak of the Libyan civil war in 2014, Turkey and Qatar had shipped tons of weapons to the LGNA via air and sea routes. However, many of these weapons shipments were intercepted by the Libyan National Army (LNA) that’s backed by Egypt and the UAE.
These weapons and explosives shipments are considered a direct violation of the European Union and United Nations arms embargoes, that prohibited the sale, supply or transfer of arms to Libya since 2011.