Iranian tanker sought by the U.S. heads to unknown destination

GIBRALTAR — An Iranian supertanker hauling $130 million worth of light crude oil that the U.S. suspects to be tied to a sanctioned organization lifted its anchor and began moving away from Gibraltar, marine traffic monitoring data showed late Sunday.

The trail left by GPS data on Marinetraffic.com, a vessel tracking service, showed the Iran-flagged Adrian Darya 1, previously known as Grace 1, moving shortly before midnight. The tanker slowly steered southeast toward a narrow stretch of international waters separating Morocco and the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula.

The vessel had been detained for a month in the British overseas territory for allegedly attempting to breach European Union sanctions on Syria. Gibraltar authorities rejected an eleventh-hour attempt by the United States’ to reseize the oil tanker Sunday, arguing that EU regulations are less strict than U.S. sanctions on Iran.

The vessel’s next destination was not immediately known.

An on-duty officer at the Port Authority of Gibraltar declined to comment on the ship’s moves and deferred questions to the government. The Gibraltar government press office did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Iran’s ambassador to Britain, Hamid Baeidinejad, had earlier announced on Twitter that the ship was expected to leave Sunday night.

The tanker’s release comes amid a growing confrontation between Iran and the West after President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers over a year ago.

Shortly after the tanker’s detention in early July near Gibraltar — a British overseas territory — Iran seized the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero, which remains held by the Islamic country. Analysts had said the Iranian ship’s release by Gibraltar could mean that the Stena Impero goes free.

Gibraltar’s government said Sunday it was allowing the Iranian tanker’s release because “The EU sanctions regime against Iran — which is applicable in Gibraltar — is much narrower than that applicable in the US.”

U.S. officials told reporters that the oil aboard the ship was worth some $130 million and that it was destined for a designated terror organization.