The strange saga of “A Whale” continues. The ship is reported to have recently come under fire by a Libyan Navy patrol boat, as it attempted to enter the Es Sider terminal in Northern Libya, apparently without clearance. The ship turned away from the port and no significant damage was reported.  Libya has warned that it will attack and destroy any tanker illegally exporting oil, which the defense forces believe the charterers of “A Whale” were attempting to do.  This is only the most recent mis-adventure for this misbegotten ship.

In July we posted, The Sorry Saga of the Ore/Oiler A Whale – From Miracle Skimmer to Bankruptcy & Abandoned Sailors. It is an odd tale about “A Whale” a 319,000 DWT Ore/Oiler which arrived on the Gulf Coast during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Its owners claimed that it was the world’s largest and highest tech oil skimmer. On testing however, it didn’t actually skim any oil, so it was sailed away. We next heard of “A Whale” a few months ago when it was reported that its now bankrupt owner, the TMT Group, had abandoned the crew without pay, food or water.  Subsequently, it was reported that the crew was paid and fed.  We can only hope that the owners of “A Whale” find her paying cargo and otherwise keep her out of trouble in the future.

Libyan Forces Alleged to Have Fired at Oil Tanker