The National Maritime Transport Company (GNMTC) asked the directors of different Libyan ports to seize any ship or tanker bearing the Bulgarian flag on the basis of the principle of reciprocity.
GNMTC called on port managers to instruct maritime inspection staff to check the documents of ships to identify Bulgarian companies to take the necessary actions.
The charge d’affairs of the Libyan Embassy in Bulgaria, Sufian Triki, said the embassy has submitted a protest note to the Bulgarian authorities about the instructions of the Libyan Foreign Ministry regarding the detention of the Libyan oil tanker “Badr” by the Bulgarian authorities in the port of Burgas.
Triki clarified that the embassy has demanded in the protest note to take the necessary and legal measures to keep the Libyan vessel in the Bulgarian port of Burgas under the responsibility of the Bulgarian government.
In November 2017, a Bulgarian court delivered a final judgment for the GNMTC allowing the vessel Badr to return to libya; however, the Bulgarian police kept the ship in its custody.
