Greece rejects Iranian tanker after warning from US

Threat of sanctions by Washington leads Athens to bar oil vessel ‘bound for Syria’ from its ports

GREECE has said it would not give safe harbour to Iran’s Grace 1 oil tanker after the US threatened to impose sanctions on any state that aided the ship.

The Iranian oil tanker left Gibraltar over the weekend, after a month in British detention, and was believed to be heading east across the Mediterranean towards the Greek port of Kalamata.

Washington warned Athens that there could be diplomatic and economic consequences if it helped the ship, which is carrying around two million barrels of oil worth $130 million.

“We have made clear that anyone who touches it, anyone who supports it, anyone who allows a ship to dock is at risk of receiving sanctions from the United States,” said Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state.

Hours after Mr Pompeo’s warning yesterday, Greece announced that the ship was not able to dock at any Greek port nor unload its cargo of oil.

Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, the deputy foreign minister, said the 1,000-ft long ship was too large for any Greek port and that Greece would abide by EU sanctions against transporting oil to Syria. “We are sending a message that we are not prepared to facilitate the course of this ship to Syria,” Mr Varvitsiotis said. He added that if the ship entered Greek waters or anchored offshore, then authorities would “see” what to do next.

The US says the ship and its oil are being used to support Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, which Washington considers a terrorist group. The Trump administration made an unsuccessful effort to get Gibraltar to detain the ship on those grounds. If the Grace 1 – now renamed the Adrian Darya 1 – enters Greek waters, then the US could make a second effort to have an allied government seize the ship. Iran has acknowledged the ship is linked to the Revolutionary Guard but denies that it was ever heading to Syria. Tehran has warned Washington not to try to interfere with the ship’s passage from Gibraltar.

EU states say they will only move against the ship if it attempts to carry its oil to Syria, which is under European sanctions.

The Trump administration’s continuing focus on the ship is likely to only delay the release of the Stena Impero, the British-flagged tanker seized last month by the Revolutionary Guard, along with its 23 crew members.

Iran initially indicated that the Stena Impero had been seized in retaliation for the Grace 1 but now claims that the ship violated maritime rules in the Persian Gulf.

Australia announced yesterday that it was joining the Us-led naval mission to protect civilian ships in the Persian Gulf. Scott Morrison, the prime minister, said he was sending a frigate and surveillance plane to take part.