Malta refused entry last night to an oil tanker loaded with 650,000 barrels of crude oil shipped by the government in eastern Libya in an “illegal” export bid, the Financial Times reports.

Distya Ameya, the Indian-flagged tanker, is reported to have dropped anchor in international waters after the Maltese authorities barred it from entry and told all shipping agents on the island that any requests on its behalf would be refused.

The tanker set sail late on Monday in defiance of authorities in Tripoli, a bold move that analysts believe could deepen the divisions that have brought chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.

The Tripoli authorities asked the UN Security Council yesterday to blacklist the Distya Ameya, which they said was carrying oil that could not be lawfully sold.

The eastern government has set up its own National Oil Company (NOC) to act in parallel to the Tripoli-based NOC that is recognised internationally as the only legitimate seller of Libyan oil.

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