Gibraltar authorities release Iranian tanker
OFFICIALS in Gibraltar have allowed a detained Iranian supertanker to leave despite a last-minute US attempt to seize the vessel.
The Supreme Court in Gibraltar had delayed a decision to release the Grace 1 after the US Department of Justice made an application to extend the vessel’s detention, the Gibraltar government said earlier yesterday.
But the Gibraltar Chronicle reported there was no US application before the court when the hearing resumed on yesterday afternoon and so the vessel was allowed to leave.
The Grace 1, carrying 2.1 million barrels of Iranian crude, was seized on July 4 in a British Royal Navy operation off Gibraltar. The vessel was suspected of violating European Union sanctions on oil shipments to Syria.
The detention of the Grace 1 saw Iran later seize the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero, which remains
held by the Islamic Republic.
The Grace 1’s release comes after the US under President Donald Trump pulled out of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers over a year ago, setting in motion a growing confrontation between Tehran and the West over its atomic programme.
Reacting to the latest developments, Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the US of trying to “steal our property on the high seas”.
He tweeted: “Having failed to accomplish its objectives through its £EconomicTerrorism – including depriving cancer patients of medicine – the US attempted to abuse the legal system to steal our property on the high seas,” and he described the Trump administration’s moves as a “piracy attempt”.
In recent weeks, the Persian Gulf region has seen six attacks on oil tankers that the US has blamed on Iran and the downing of an American surveillance drone by Iranian forces. Iran has denied being behind the tanker attacks, though it has seized other vessels.
Signalling preparations for the expected release of the Grace 1, its captain, an Indian national, and three officers were freed from detention early yesterday.
Lina Khatib, head of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, said the US request on the Grace 1 was based on its own imposed sanctions on Iran, and not the EU’s sanctions on oil exports to Syria.
“Although the US expects its European allies to abide by these sanctions, it is up to the Gibraltar authorities to assess the allegations presented by the US,” Ms Khatib said.