An oil tanker carrying 80,000 tonnes of crude from rebel-held east Libya entered Egypt's Suez Canal on Saturday heading towards the Red Sea, a canal official told Reuters.

The Liberia-registered tanker Equator left the rebel-held east Libyan port of Marsa el Hariga on Tuesday. Oil traders say the cargo, which rebels need to finance their uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, is headed for China.

The cargo is equivalent to around 550,000 barrels of oil.

The seven-week civil war has cut output from the major supplier by 80 percent and both sides have traded accusations over attacks on oilfields. – Reuters