Iran fury as Royal Marines storm oil smuggling tanker
ROYAL Marines mounted a daring operation yesterday to seize a supertanker believed to be smuggling crude oil from Iran to Syria.
Under cover of darkness, marines from 42 Commando descended onto the tanker on ropes from a Wildcat helicopter.
Other marines in fast-moving rigid inflatable boats stormed the vessel alongside Gibraltarian police. No shots were fired during the operation.
Iran reacted with fury to the raid and there were fears last night that it could escalate its confrontation with the West.
In Tehran, the Iranian foreign ministry summoned the British ambassador, Robert Macaire, to a meeting to voice ‘its very strong objection to the illegal and unacceptable seizure’ of its ship.
Foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi called the ship’s seizure ‘odd and destructive’, adding: ‘It can cause an increase in tensions in the region.’
The US had been tracking the tanker, the Grace 1, and had called on Britain to seize it as it entered waters off Gibraltar.
Defence chiefs gave the go-ahead for about 30 marines to fly from Britain to Gibraltar to to help police board the vessel. Around 16 Royal Gibraltar Police officers were also involved in the operation.
In a rare move, the Ministry of Defence released images of the marines ‘fast-roping’ onto the 300,000-ton vessel.
The Grace 1, which is more than 1,000ft long, was detained by Gibraltar because it was believed to be heading to the Banyas refinery in Syria in breach of EU sanctions.
The EU imposed financial, trade and transport sanctions against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime in 2011 in response to its ‘continuing brutal campaign’ against its own people.
The US has also imposed sanctions, to choke off Iran’s oil exports.
But the incident reignited the UK’s long-standing row with Spain over the sovereignty of Gibraltar, which has been controlled by Britain since 1713.
Josep Borrell, Spain’s acting foreign minister, said it was looking into how the seizing of the ship may affect Spanish sovereignty because it happened in waters around Gibraltar that it considers Spanish. The MoD said the incident took place in Gibraltar’s territorial waters.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: ‘Congratulations to Gibraltar and the Royal Marines for this bold move to enforce Syria sanctions.
‘Their swift action has denied valuable resources to Assad’s murderous regime.’
Iran’s anger over the seizure lifted any doubt about its ownership of the vessel, which flew a Panamanian flag and is listed as managed by a company in Singapore.
Tracking experts said the Grace 1 had left Iran in midApril and sailed the longer route round the southern tip of Africa as it headed to Syria. Analysts believe it was carrying two million barrels of Iranian crude oil.
It was claimed the vessel had turned off its electronic tracking devices as it sailed into Iranian waters and then turned them on again after leaving. Such tactics are used to evade sanctions, but ships can still be followed through satellite imagery. Gibraltar’s chief minister, Fabian Picardo, praised the ‘brave men and women’ of the Royal Marines and police.
‘We have detained the vessel and its cargo,’ he said. ‘We have reason to believe that the Grace 1 was carrying its shipment of crude oil to the Banyas refinery in Syria.’
In Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘We welcome this firm action to enforce EU sanctions against the Syrian regime and commend those Gibraltarian authorities involved in successfully carrying out this operation.
‘This sends a clear message that violation of the sanctions is unacceptable.’
‘Denied valuable resources to Assad’