July 19, 2019
Iran may have lost one tanker in Gibraltar, but it has just gotten back another one that had been confined in Saudi Arabia for 2-1/2 months.
Iran said Saudi Arabia had been refusing to return to Iran a tanker that broke down in the Red Sea off the Saudi Coast.
Iran said it paid the Saudis the full cost of the repairs—but said the Saudis then demanded more payments before they would allow the tanker to sail.
But the Foreign Ministry said the Saudis released the Happiness 1 July 20—the same day Iran seized a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Those events did not appear to be linked.
It was announced May 2 that Saudi Arabia’s coast guard rescued an Iranian oil tanker with engine trouble off the coast of Jeddah in the Red Sea after Riyadh received a request for help from Iran.
So far, Iran says, it has paid more than $10 million to the port of Jeddah for repair costs, which the Mehr news agency quoted officials as saying is 7 to 8 times more than warranted.
Saudi Arabia has reportedly asked the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) for an additional $200,000 per day for berthing and maintenance.
The crew of the oil tanker has not been allowed to sail home or to leave the tanker and fly home, Iran says.
The Mehr news agency said, “Without a doubt, the Saudi actions in preventing the Iranian oil tanker to return home is in contradiction with the legal principles—including maritime law—and can be considered an illegal seizure of a country’s property.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry didn’t say if it had paid the Saudis any more money to win the ship’s release. It did not admit to making any concessions.
