MV ''Morning Glory'', formerly ''Gulf Glory'', ''Bandar Ayu'', and ''Pergiwati'', is a 1993-built crude oil tanker. Considered a stateless vessel with stolen cargo, the tanker was seized by United States Special Operations Forces southeast of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in the eastern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

on March 16, 2014. The intervention occurred upon the request of the

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

n and Cypriot governments. As ''Gulf Glory'' the vessel had previously sailed under

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

n registry. In 2011, the ''Morning Glory'' was repaired at the CIC Changxing Shipyard, China.

March 2014 event

Apparently, the tanker had been ordered to Libyan waters off the port of Sidra, Libya where it was seized by rebel gunmen. Flying the flag of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

the vessel then entered the port of Sidra in early March 2014. North Korea, however, disavowed the ship once it learned that it was under rebel control. Sidra is under the control of an eastern Libyan militia group that under the leadership of Ibrahim Jathran defies the central government and aims for greater

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

. At Sidra, the tanker was loaded with 234,000 barrels of state-owned

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

that had been seized by the rebels. The Libyan government intended to prevent the ship from leaving the port on March 11 but failed to establish an effective blockade. As a result, the Ali Zeidan government collapsed. Fearing for his safety Zeidan then fled the country. The rebels had planned to sell the oil bypassing the Libyan government, however, the intervention on sea blocked this attempt. The oil tanker was seized by a U.S. Navy SEAL team and U.S. SWCC from the on March 16, 2014, without bloodshed. The vessel was brought to the port of

Zawiya, Libya Zawiya , officially Zawia (, transliteration: ''Az Zāwiyaẗ'', or ''Zavia'', variants: ''Az Zawiyah Al Gharbiyah'', ''Ḩārat az Zāwiyah'', ''Al Ḩārah'', ''El-Hára'' and ''Haraf Az Zāwīyah''), is a List of cities in Libya, city in no ...

and handed over to Libyan authorities on March 22, 2014, after being escorted by .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morning Glory 1993 ships Captured ships Maritime incidents in 2014 Oil tankers Ships of Libya