by tugboathunter » October 13, 2017, 5:46 pm
It seems to me that had the tanker really been involved in fuel smuggling, the Libyan Coast Guard wouldn't have let it get away after firing on it. The Russian story of "financial issues" seems to be more plausible, especially because it was the Libyan Coast Guard themselves who claimed that the tanker capsized, which would seem to give them little credibility in this case. But, initially, theirs was the only source of information on the incident, and it's uncommon for news sites to check AIS to confirm.
It seems to me that had the tanker really been involved in fuel smuggling, the Libyan Coast Guard wouldn't have let it get away after firing on it. The Russian story of "financial issues" seems to be more plausible, especially because it was the Libyan Coast Guard themselves who claimed that the tanker capsized, which would seem to give them little credibility in this case. But, initially, theirs was the only source of information on the incident, and it's uncommon for news sites to check AIS to confirm.