Oil Tanker ‘Newlead Avra’ Leaves Libya without Cargo

The oil tanker Newlead Avra, which had been traveling to the port of Mellitah in western Libya, failed to load a cargo and is now heading to Cyprus, the vessel’s owner said.

The ship, which has a carrying capacity of 73,400 deadweight tons, was instructed to sail to Limassol, Cyprus, without having collected a cargo, Elisa Gerouki, a Piraeus, Greece-based spokeswoman for NewLead Holdings Ltd. said by e- mail today. The company that booked the ship didn’t confirm what the cargo was going to be, she said later by phone.

Libya wants to resume crude exports in two to three weeks, Guma El-Gamaty, the U.K. coordinator for the country’s National Transitional Council, said Sept. 8. Shipments from the country, holder of Africa’s biggest oil reserves, plunged during a conflict that escalated in February and led to leader Muammar Qaddafi being deposed.

An 80,000 metric-ton cargo of crude was being offered for shipment from Mellitah between Sept. 15 and Sept. 17, three people with direct knowledge of the transaction said Sept. 8.

By Alaric Nightingale (Bloomberg)