Gibraltar turns down US request to seize Iranian tanker

Gibraltar yesterday rejected a US request to block the release of an Iranian oil tanker, saying it was unable to comply because it was bound by European Union law.

A federal court in Washington issued a warrant for the seizure of the tanker on Friday, a day after Gibraltar authorities said the vessel was free to leave after being detained for six weeks over suspicions that it was transporting oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions.

The US warrant said the tanker, its oil cargo and $995,000 (Dh3.65 million) were subject to forfeiture based on breaches of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and bank fraud, money laundering and terrorism forfeiture statutes.

But Gibraltar said yesterday that European laws did not provide grounds for complying with the warrant.

“The Central Authority’s inability to seek the orders requested is a result of the operation of European Union law and the differences in the sanctions regimes applicable to Iran in the EU and the US,” a government statement said.

“The EU sanctions regime against Iran – which is applicable in Gibraltar – is much narrower than that applicable in the US.”

The tanker was sailing under the Panamanian flag with a cargo of 2.1 million barrels of crude when it was seized by British Royal Marines on July 4 in the territorial waters of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory. But Panama’s Maritime Authority said in July that it had delisted the vessel after an alert that indicated the ship had participated in or was linked to terrorism financing.

The ship has now raised an Iranian flag and been renamed as it prepared to set sail yesterday. Pictures of the vessel – previously known as Grace 1 – show the name Adrian Darya-1 painted on its hull.

Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran’s ambassador to the UK, rejected claims that the renaming was to avoid US sanctions, but was instead because it had been reflagged as Iranian and therefore should have an Iranian name.

“Naturally, with the registration of the ship in Iran, a new Iranian name was picked for

it,” he said on Twitter. The ship had yet to leave Gibraltar yesterday, amid reports that it was in need of repairs and that its Indian captain had asked to be replaced. Mr Baeidinejad said the issues had been resolved. “With the arrival of two specialised engineering teams to Gibraltar … the vessel is expected to leave tonight,” he tweeted yesterday.

But a lawyer for the ship’s captain said: “He doesn’t want to stay in command of the ship, he wants to go home, because he wasn’t happy to go back and pick up the broken pieces.

“But he’s a professional skipper and needs to wait for a new crew to do a proper handover.”

The lawyer said the tanker had been due for repairs in Gibraltar even before it was seized and its detention had hindered the replacement of parts, making the vessel unfit for an immediate long voyage.

Besides seeking to seize the tanker, the US last week also threatened visa bans against its crew and anyone associated with the ship’s operations. The US has imposed wide- ranging sanctions on Iran since withdrawing last year from a pact that restored Tehran’s access to the global economy in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. US President Donald Trump said the nuclear accord, which includes Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, did not address Iran’s missile development and destabilising activities in the Middle East.

It is not clear where the tanker will go next but Gibraltar said it agreed to release the ship after being given assurances by Iran that its cargo would not be delivered to Syria. Iranian officials say they made no such commitment.

The seizure of the tanker triggered a diplomatic crisis between Britain and Iran.