NATO sea corridor mooted to help Libyan rebels

(Reuters) - NATO is considering creating a sea corridor backed by naval vessels to enable merchant ships to boost trade with Libyan rebels and speed up humanitarian aid.

Fighting between Libyan armed forces and rebels who are trying to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi, as well as sanctions against the Libyan leader's government, have brought seaborne trade to a virtual standstill in recent weeks.

NATO has been enforcing a U.N. arms embargo on Gaddafi in international waters only. Merchant ships face a risk of attack inside Libyan waters due to the violence.

Two shipping sources said on Friday they were aware of proposals to create a secure shipping lane to Libya, though security sources said NATO would not be able to protect ships in port.

"Contingency planning has been done on this at NATO and in the European Union," British Foreign Secretary William Hague told Reuters on Thursday when asked about the proposal.

Hague said a lot of aid had been delivered to the besieged Western city of Misrata without a military presence, which was "always the first option."

"It's only if that failed and the United Nations ... recommended that military assistance was required that then that would come into play," he said at a NATO conference in Berlin.

Aid groups have urged shipping companies to resume services to rebel-held eastern ports including Benghazi to bring in aid, and the anti-Gaddafi Libyan National Council (LNC) has said it must keep exporting oil to boost minimal cash reserves.

"The possibility of protecting merchant shipping traveling to and from ports under the control of the (LNC) is part of the broader strategy which the coalition has adopted to facilitate the 'normalization' of the status of rebels' interim authority on the world stage," said J. Peter Pham, Africa director with U.S. think tank the Atlantic Council.

"In theory, escorts or the designation of protected transit corridors ... should lower, if not eliminate altogether the need for war risk price differentials. This, in turn, should make it easier for the rebel authorities to transact business."

Jakob Larsen, maritime security officer with BIMCO, the world's largest private shipowners' association, said a merchant ship had been attacked by Libyan coast guard vessels last month.

"As a precautionary measure, close protection of shipping would be desirable," he said. "We are still waiting clearer directions as to which cargoes can legitimately be offloaded in Libya."

PORT RISKS

A NATO official said the organization had drafted notices to mariners giving clear indications on "how to behave in the maritime joint operations area."

"Our task is to enforce the arms embargo, not to protect commercial ships," the official said.