Thursday, 24th July 2008 - 16:19CET

Libya halts oil shipments to Switzerland

OPEC member Libya is halting oil shipments to Switzerland in protest at the arrest of a son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, workers of state-owned Maritime Transport National Corporation said on Thursday.

All ships carrying Swiss-made goods are barred from unloading their cargoes at Libyan ports, they added in a statement issued shortly after they staged a protest outside the Swiss embassy in Tripoli.

The ban on oil shipments includes both crude oil and refined petroleum products. The protesters also threatened unspecified further action against Swiss authorities if they did not apologise "in the next coming hours" for the arrest in Geneva on July 15 of Hannibal Gaddafi.

In Zurich, Rolf Hartl, Managing Director of the Swiss Oil Association, described Libya as an important supplier, providing about 50,000 barrels of Switzerland's 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) consumption.

The Swiss Customs Office said oil imports from Libya made up 80 percent of all Swiss oil imports in the first six months of 2008 in terms of volume, and for 50 percent last year.

Libya's top oil official, National Oil Corporation head Shokhri Ghanem, declined to comment.

Libya's state-owned Tamoil company owns a 72,000 bpd refinery at Collombey in Switzerland as well as a network of petrol stations in the country.

Gaddafi, who is a senior official of the maritime corporation, was released on bail in Geneva after he and his wife were charged with ill-treatment of two domestic employees. Gaddafi denied the charges, his lawyer has said.

Gaddafi was arrested in a luxury hotel after staff alerted police to repeated arguments in their suite. He spent two nights in jail while his wife Aline, who is nine months pregnant, was taken to hospital feeling unwell.

Comments

v.pulis (on 25/7/08)

Now we know why we stand alone against illegal migrants coming from Libya. can you imagine a european country standing up to old muammar when it knows it will face oil sanctions? What we can do is stop the boats from entering our territory, escort them back to within 5 miles of libya's territoral waters and point them south again. that is our only hope of winning this battle. and europe can get out of this libyan strangle hold by adapting to alternative energy ASAP. oil is the only weapon gaddafi has against europe.

DVella (on 25/7/08)

Typical of our old 'friend' down south!! He'd be more at home living in a roving nomadic tribe than pretending to be a statesman in the civilised world! This is no more than vindictive retaliation and harks back to a fued caused by some perceived slight or insult from a rival tribe! Presumably Gaddafi Jnr. was arrested on solid grounds, the Swiss police are hardly likely to arrest anyone on a mere whim. This being the case and if the evidence dictates, he will probably be criminally charged like all law breakers. So is Grandad Muammar being so preposterous as to suggest that the law does not apply to his kin? Is he expecting any preferential treatment? Is he protecting a potential criminal?? . . . . . and this geriatric tin-pot dictator actually has the gall to demand an apology and impose 'sanctions' ! . . . . as if Switzerland would give a toss! If the man broke the law then it is right that he should be arrested and held in preventive custody and if there are grounds to charge him then so be it! Nobody is above the law, regardless of his surname!

Alex Ellul (on 24/7/08)

Everyone should be considered equal in the eyes of the law and the Swiss state has kept true to this, immaterial to who the perpetrator is, this time being the Libyan leader's son and the latter's wife. The Libyan Government, in turn is threatening the Swiss with immediate oil and other economic sanctions. It seems that the Libyan Government is used to such tactics and it could be that its success is the reason why European countries and the EU in particular are doing absolutely nothing to chastise Libya for the organised illegal immigration trade (read human flesh) causing the death of a great number of men, woman and children on the high seas. I hope that the EU stands by the Swiss Government and recognises Libya for what it truly is: An oil-rich dictatorship run by the Geddhafi family and its cronies bullying Europe by threatening with fuel cuts, similar to what Russia is doing to its neighbouring states. Europe should wean itself from oil as fast as possible and change over to other sources of energy.

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Wednesday, December 3, 2008. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Libya halts oil shipments to Switzerland

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