By Jonathan Saul, Lefteris Papadimas and Renee Maltezou
The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Ice Energy transfers crude
oil from the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Lana (former Pegas), off the shore of
Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas
LONDON/ATHENS, May 26 (Reuters) - The United
States has confiscated Iranian oil held on a Russian-operated ship near Greece
and will send the cargo to the United States aboard another vessel, three
sources familiar with the matter said.
It was unclear whether the cargo was
impounded because it was Iranian oil or due to the sanctions on the tanker over
its Russian nexus. Iran and Russia are facing separate U.S. sanctions.
The Iranian-flagged ship, the Pegas, was
among five vessels designated by Washington on Feb. 22 - two days before
Russia's invasion of Ukraine - for sanctions against Promsvyazbank, a bank
viewed as critical to Russia's defence sector.
The vessel's Russian owner Transmorflot was
subsequently designated on May 8. The tanker, renamed Lana on March 1 and
flying the Iranian flag since May 1, has remained near Greek waters since then.
It was previously Russian-flagged.
A source at Greece's shipping ministry said
on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice had "informed Greece that
the cargo on the vessel is Iranian oil".
"The cargo has been transferred to
another ship that was hired by the U.S.," the source added, without
providing further details.
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on what it
described as a Russian-backed oil smuggling and money laundering network for
Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, even as Washington tries to revive a
nuclear deal with Iran. read more
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of
Justice declined to comment on the oil seizure.
Russian officials did not respond to requests
for comment.
The confiscation was confirmed by a separate
Western source familiar with the matter, who said the cargo was transferred
onto the Liberia-flagged tanker Ice Energy, which is operated by Greek shipping
company Dynacom.
A source at Dynacom confirmed that a
"transfer of the oil was underway from the vessel to Dynacom's Ice Energy,
which will then sail to the United States".
Iran's IRNA state news agency reported on
Wednesday that its foreign ministry summoned the charge d'affaires of Greece's
embassy in Tehran following the seizure of the cargo of a ship which was
"under the banner of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Greek waters and he
was informed of the strong objections" of Iran's government.
Greek government officials could not confirm
the information.
IRNA quoted Iran’s Ports and Maritime
Organization as saying the tanker had sought refuge along Greece’s coast after
experiencing technical problems and poor weather, adding that the seizure of
its cargo was "a clear example of piracy".
The Ice Energy on Thursday reported its
position as anchored close to the southern Greek island of Evia, ship tracking
data on Eikon showed.
In 2020, Washington confiscated four cargoes
of Iranian fuel aboard foreign ships that were bound for Venezuela and
transferred them with the help of undisclosed foreign partners onto two other
ships which then sailed to the United States.
Those seizures took place after a U.S.
district court issued an order for the shipments' cargoes in a civil forfeiture
case.
Greek authorities last month impounded the
Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the island of Evia's coast.
They said the ship was impounded as part of
EU sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. However, the vessel was
later released due to confusion about sanctions on its owners.
U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear
Iran (UANI), which monitors Iran-related tanker traffic, said the Pegas had
loaded around 700,000 barrels of crude oil from Iran's Sirri Island on Aug. 19,
2021.
Prior to this load, the Pegas transported
over 3 million barrels of Iranian oil in 2021, with over 2.6 million of those
barrels ending up in China, according to UANI analysis.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has
been engaged in indirect talks to restart a 2015 Iran nuclear deal former
President Donald Trump abandoned, under which world powers lifted international
financial sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.
While talks had appeared close to
resurrecting the deal in March, they stalled over last-minute Russian demands
and whether Washington might drop the Revolutionary Guards from its terrorism
list.
Washington's Iran envoy said on Wednesday the
chances of reviving the nuclear deal were shaky at best, and Washington was
ready to tighten sanctions on Iran.
Reporting by Jonathan Saul in London and Lefteris Papadimas and
Renee Mazeltou in Athens; Additional reporting by Dubai bureau; Editing by
Jason Neely, David Evans and Howard Goller
Iranian oil
tanker’s cargo seized in Greece after US request
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-politics-united-states-68af0db11c5c03e89049da0629ef4d85
Iranian Oil Seized From Formerly
Russian-Flagged Tanker Stopped Off Greece
May 27, 2022
· By RFE/RL
It was unclear whether the oil was confiscated because it was
Iranian oil subject to U.S. sanctions or whether the action was due to the
sanctions on the tanker, which recently changed its name from Pegas to Lana and
which has been flying the Iranian flag since May 1.
The
United States has confiscated Iranian oil held on a Russian-operated ship near
the Greek island of Evia in the Aegean Sea, according to news reports quoting
Greek sources.
Following
a "judicial intervention by U.S. authorities concerning the ship's
cargo," the process is currently under way for the oil "to be handed
over" at U.S. government expense, an unidentified official quoted on May
26 by the AP news agency said.
The
vessel was temporarily seized by Greek authorities on April 15 when it anchored
off the port of Karystos on Evia. At the time, it was flying a Russian flag and
was carrying a crew of 19 Russians.
The
Greek Coast Guard said it was seized due to suspicions it had breached EU
sanctions imposed against Russia due to the war in Ukraine.
It was
unclear whether the oil was confiscated because it was Iranian oil subject to
U.S. sanctions or whether the action was due to the sanctions on the tanker,
which recently changed its name from Pegas to Lana and which has been flying
the Iranian flag since May 1.
A
source at Greece's Shipping Ministry quoted by Reuters said the U.S. Department
of Justice had "informed Greece that the cargo on the vessel is Iranian
oil."
"The
cargo has been transferred to another ship that was hired by the U.S.,"
the source added without providing further details.
The
United States on May 25 imposed sanctions on what it described as a
Russian-backed oil-smuggling and money-laundering network for Iran's Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps' Quds Force.
With reporting by AP and
Reuters
https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-oil-russian-tanker-greece/31871008.html
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