Article

2019-07-04 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Gibraltar detains Syria-bound supertanker with Iranian oil

[Ay-Pee] Authorities in Gibraltar said they intercepted Thursday an Iranian supertanker believed to be breaching European Union sanctions by carrying a shipment of Tehran's crude oil to war-ravaged Syria.

A senior Spanish official said the operation was requested by the United States. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency described the incident as "an illegal seizure of an Iranian oil tanker."
Says the Iranians who don't respect anyone's property, sovereignty, civil niceties, lives
Gibraltar port and law enforcement agencies, assisted by Britain's Royal Marines, boarded the Grace 1 early Thursday, authorities on the British overseas territory at the tip of Spain said in a statement.

It added that the vessel was believed to be headed to the Baniyas Refinery in Syria, a government-owned facility under the control of Syrian President Bashar Assad and subject to the EU's Syrian Sanctions Regime.

The EU and others have imposed sanctions on Assad's government over its continued crackdown against civilians. They currently target 270 people and 70 entities.

Spain's caretaker foreign minister Josep Borrell said the tanker was stopped by British authorities after a request from the United States.

Iran later summoned the British ambassador in Tehran to answer questions about the operation. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a tweet that Rob Macaire was summoned over the "illegal interception" of the ship.

Mousavi later called the ship's seizure "odd and destructive." ″It can cause an increase in tensions in the region," he said in a live telephone interview on state television Thursday night.
You betcha. *SNORT*

Update from The Times of Israel at 2:45 EDT:

The Gibraltar authorities didn’t confirm the origin of the ship’s cargo but Lloyd’s List, a publication specialized in maritime affairs, reported this week that the Panama-flagged large carrier was laden with Iranian oil. Experts were said to have concluded that it carried oil from Iran because the tanker was not sending geographic information while in Iranian waters.

A neon-lit sign of nefarious intent...

According to a United Nations list, the ship is owned by the Singapore-based Grace Tankers Ltd.

Posted by Frank G 2019-07-04 12:29|| || Front Page|| [11140 views ] Top
File under: Govt of Iran

#1 How the hell did it get to Gibraltar? Did their tanker go around the Cape of Good hope and enter the Med at Gibraltar to avoid Suez?
That's a rough voyage!

Posted by 3dc 2019-07-04 12:45|| 2019-07-04 12:45|| Front Page Top

#2 Article sez they went around the Cape. Suez must be totally closed to them .

Posted by jpal 2019-07-04 13:28|| 2019-07-04 13:28|| Front Page Top

#3 Damn those Arabs why do they hate the Persians so much? /snicker

Posted by jpal 2019-07-04 13:43|| 2019-07-04 13:43|| Front Page Top

#4 And there's also other tribes like the Turks and Kurds. Don't get the starting letters of those two mixed up.

Posted by jpal 2019-07-04 13:52|| 2019-07-04 13:52|| Front Page Top

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