Tehran summons UK ambassador after marines seize oil tanker
Diplomatic row between the UK and Tehran after Royal Marines boarded an Iranian oil tanker.
Iran called the British ambassador to its foreign ministry last night to explain why the Royal Marines had impounded one of its oil tankers in Gibraltar.
The Gibraltar authorities said that the Grace 1, a Panama-flagged tanker, was transporting crude oil to the Banyas oil refinery in Syria, contravening sanctions imposed on Damascus by the European Union and United States. The action was at the request of the US.
The authorities did not say where the oil came from, but reports suggested that its cargo was secretly loaded in Iran. Abbas Moussavi, the foreign ministry spokesman, called the detention an “illegal seizure” and summoned Rob Macaire, the British ambassador, to lodge the complaint.
However, White House National Security Advisor John Bolton applauded the interception of the supertanker.
“Excellent news: UK has detained the supertanker Grace I laden with Iranian oil bound for Syria in violation of EU sanctions,” Bolton tweeted.
Excellent news: UK has detained the supertanker Grace I laden with Iranian oil bound for Syria in violation of EU sanctions. America & our allies will continue to prevent regimes in Tehran & Damascus from profiting off this illicit trade.
— John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) July 4, 2019
The British action also risks a diplomatic incident with Spain. Madrid said that the vessel was in Spanish waters.
Royal Marines, police and customs agencies were said by local media to have boarded and taken control of the Grace 1 when it was about 2.5 miles off the coast of Gibraltar at about 2am. The captain and crew were not held. According to shipping records, the Grace 1 formally identified its cargo as having been loaded in Iraq, thus avoiding the US sanctions on Iran. However, tracking websites said it had not docked in Iraq at the relevant time and its satellite identification system was turned off. It later showed up near the Iranian port of Assaluyeh, fully loaded and then travelled the long route to Syria round the Cape of Good Hope, avoiding the more straightforward journey through the Suez Canal, which is more easily monitored.
Tanker trackers estimate that the ship carries two million barrels of oil.
The Times
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