EU freezes business assets of six Libyan ports

(BRUSSELS) - The EU named on Wednesday six Libyan ports now added to a list of businesses hit by an asset freeze, covering facilities in Tripoli, Al Khoms, Brega, Ras Lanuf, Zawia and Zuwara.

A European Union official has said all six are controlled by the Moamer Kadhafi regime the sanctions are designed to strangle.

The measures became legal with the publication of the details in the EU's Official Journal, or legal log.

The entry added: "The prohibition on making funds, financial assets or economic resources available to persons or entities referred to... in so far as it applies to port authorities, shall not prevent the execution, until 15 July 2011, of contracts concluded before the date of entry into force of this decision, with the exception of contracts relating to oil, gas and refined products.'

An EU assets freeze and travel ban against dozens of Kadhafi loyalists and firms suspected of propping up the regime includes national oil vehicles, the Libyan leader's inner circle and Libya's busy low-fare Afriqiyah airline.

The EU has also imposed an arms embargo and officially opened an office in the rebel capital of Benghazi -- a boost for insurgents hosting world powers as diplomacy steps up with their National Transitional Council (NTC).

Billions of euros of Libyan funds have been frozen by different EU states, mostly in Italy and Germany.