Saturday, August 17, 2019

US issues warrant to seize Grace 1 supertanker

The US justice department has issued a warrant to seize a detained Iranian oil tanker, a day after a judge in Gibraltar ordered it to be released.

The Grace 1 supertanker, which is carrying 2.1m barrels of oil, was detained on 4 July on suspicion of illegally transporting oil to Syria.

A last-minute legal attempt by the US to keep the tanker detained was rejected by Gibraltar on Thursday.

Iran previously called the detention of Grace 1 an "Illegal interception".

Two weeks after Grace 1 was detained, on 19 July, Iran seized the British flagged tanker Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz.

Gibraltar's government said it had received assurances from Iran that Grace 1 would not sail to countries "Subject to European Union sanctions" - that is, Syria.

Neither Britain nor Gibraltar have responded to the US warrant.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49379144

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