September 06, 2019
The Iranian oil tanker that was freed by Gibraltar is now sailing aimlessly about the Mediterranean like some sort of ghost ship, changing its listed destination every few days but staying in international waters and avoiding any port.
The United States sanctioned the ship and its Indian skipper August 30, declaring the vessel to be “blocked property” for “providing support to terrorism.” The US Treasury Department said anyone who deals with the ship “may themselves be exposed to sanctions.”
Thus far, no one is offering the ship a haven.
When it left Gibraltar August 18, the ship’s radio ID system listed its destination as Kalamata, Greece. But the port authorities there said the very large crude carrier (VLCC) was too large to dock at Kalamata. What’s more, the port authorities noted that Greece is not buying any Iranian crude to stay in accord with US sanctions.
Later, the crew changed the destination to Mersin, Turkey. The Turks were aghast and said they have bought no Iranian crude since the US sanctions were re-imposed. The ship next changed its listed destination to Iskenderun, Turkey on August 30. Going passed Crete, it first sailed east, then west, then back east.
Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said the ship would not be allowed to dock any where in Turkey and was headed to Lebanon. But Lebanese Energy Minister Nada Boustani said Lebanon does not have an oil refinery and the country only imports refined products, not crude oil.
As of August 31, the ship’s destination was posted as “For order,” meaning it was awaiting instructions on where it should go. As of September 1, ship-tracking gear showed the ship had slowed to a crawl about 100 kilometers off Syria,
The tanker was named Grace 1 and flew the Panamanian flag when Gibraltar seized it July 4, saying it was a bound for Syria, thereby violating EU sanctions that forbid crude sales to Syria. Panama de-flagged the ship. Iran put up its flag and changed the name to Adrian Darya 1.
A number of news outlets said the name change was to disguise the ship, but that was lame since news photographers sat in boats off Gibraltar watching as the crew painted on the new name one letter at a time.
The ship is fully loaded with 2.1 million tons of Iranian light crude, almost one day’s export volume before sanctions were resumed (2.5 million barrels). The cargo has a market value of about $125 million. The huge volume requires more draught or depth than the Suez Canal can accept. The ship could offload part of its cargo and then go back home through the canal. But if it stays fully loaded, it would have to sail back passed Gibraltar into the Atlantic and around Africa to get back home.
When Gibraltar seized the ship, saying the cargo was headed for Syria, Iran denied the destination was Syria. But it has never what the destination was. After the ship left Gibraltar, Iran said the cargo had been sold to another owner who would decide where the cargo would be offloaded. But it has not named the new owner.
Gibraltar said it released the tanker after Iran sent it “written assurances” that the cargo would not go to Syria. Iran denied pledging any such thing. Gibraltar has not released the “written assurances.”
The US Naval Institute News said its suspected Washington was trying to duplicate what it did last year with the Wise Honest, a North Korean bulk carrier.
As with the Adrian Darya 1, the US said the Wise Honest should be forfeited to the United States for violations of the US sanctions laws. It says the tanker is effectively owned by the Pasdaran operating through a series of front companies. But under the Law of the Sea, the United States cannot enforce its law on the high seas by seizing the ship in international waters. The Wise Honest sailed into an Indonesian port where Indonesia agreed to assist the United States and seized the ship in April 2018. Earlier this month, the US Marshals Service put the Wise Honest up for sale.
The US tried to have the Iranian tanker seized under a US request while it was in Gibraltar, but the Gibraltar government refused to cooperate.
Forewarned, the Adrian Darya 1 is unlikely to sail into any port where the government is friendly with or subject to pressure from the United States.
Rear Admiral Hossain Khanzadi, commander of Iran’s regular Navy, said he was prepared to escort the tanker back to Iran if necessary. But, since the US cannot act against the ship except when it is in port and subject to a foreign state’s courts, that is an irrelevant, if seemingly dramatic, offer.
The captain of the Grace 1 and many of the crew quit the ship while it was docked in Gibraltar waters. A new captain, Akhilesh Kumar, an Indian national, and new Indian and Ukrainian crewmembers were hired, which delayed the ship’s departure from Gibraltar. Since the captain has now been sanctioned by the United States, it remains to be seen if he wants to stay with the ship.
Meanwhile, Stena Impero, the Swedish ship impounded July 19 by Iran for allegedly colliding with an Iranian fishing craft in the Strait of Hormuz and other reported violations (such a sailing in the wrong direction in the shipping lanes in the strait), has been put on trial at Bandar Abbas. There has been no public word on the progress of the trial.