Libya starts investigation of seized ship in Greece

TRIPOLI, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Municipal Council of the Libyan city of Misurata on Saturday started an investigation into a ship seized by Greek authorities.

The council said in a statement that the investigation is opened "to clarify the details of the cargo, the consignee, and the reason for changing the original route of the ship."

The port of Misurata's free zone was not informed by the ship's captain of any details regarding the cargo, and only received a notice of the arrival date, the statement added.

The council demanded the Libyan authorities to contact Turkish and Greek authorities to "reveal the circumstances and details of the issue."

Greek Coast Guards announced on Wednesday that they seized a ship flying the flag of Tanzania and carrying materials used to make explosives while sailing to Libya.

The ship's cargo policy indicates that the cargo was loaded at the Turkish ports of Mersin and Iskenderun and was headed to Djibouti and Oman.

However, Greek Coast Guards said preliminary investigation showed that the ship's captain had received orders from the ship's owner to sail to the Libyan city of Misurata, some 250 km east the capital Tripoli, to unload the entire cargo.

Libyan Foreign Ministry on Friday demanded Greece to provide the latest investigation information about a seized ship. Enditem