Blacklisted Iranian tanker in Syrian port: Bolton
TROUBLES IN THE OCEAN
The Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, blacklisted by Washington, has arrived in the Syrian port of Tartus, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said.
“Anyone who said the Adrian Darya-1 wasn’t headed to Syria is in denial,” Bolton said in a tweet late on Friday with a satellite image he said showed the ship anchored 2 nautical miles off Tartus.
“Tehran thinks it’s more important to fund the murderous Assad regime than provide for its own people. We can talk, but Iran’s not getting any sanctions relief until it stops lying and spreading terror!” The TankerTrackers site also shows the oil tanker near Tartus. Adrian Darya 1 has been at the center of a dispute between Tehran and Western powers, which went dark off Syria earlier in the week. However there was no confirmation that the ship, carrying 2.1 million barrels of oil worth around $140 million, was unloading its cargo.
The Middle East Eye news site said on Friday the tanker had delivered oil to Syria, with one source quoted saying 55 percent of its cargo was offloaded on Thursday night.
The tanker has been photographed by satellite off the Syrian port of Tartus, Maxar Technologies Inc., a US space technology company said on Saturday.
Maxar’s supplied image shows the tanker Adrian Darya 1 very close to Tartus on Friday.
The ship appeared to have turned off its transponder in the Mediterranean west of Syria, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed on Tuesday.
The tanker, which is loaded with Iranian crude oil, sent its last signal giving its position between Cyprus and Syria sailing north at 15:53 GMT on Monday, the data showed.
The Adrian Darya 1 had been held for six weeks by the British overseas territory of Gibraltar on suspicion it was set to deliver oil from Iran to its main Arab ally Syria — a violation of EU sanctions on Bashar Assad’s iron-fisted regime. Gibraltar released the ship, formerly called the Grace 1, on Aug. 18 over US protests after receiving written assurances that the vessel would not head to countries under EU sanctions.