[5] Considered a stateless vessel with stolen cargo, the tanker was seized by United States Special Operations Forces southeast of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean on March 16, 2014.
[2][6][8] Sidra is under the control of an eastern Libyan militia group that under the leadership of Ibrahim Jathran defies the central government and aims for greater autonomy.
[9] The Libyan government intended to prevent the ship from leaving the port on March 11 but failed to establish an effective blockade.
The oil tanker was seized by a U.S. Navy SEAL team and U.S. SWCC from the USS Roosevelt on March 16, 2014, without bloodshed.
[11] The vessel was brought to the port of Zawiya, Libya and handed over to Libyan authorities on March 22, 2014, after being escorted by USS Elrod.