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Agence France-Presse

The United States on Friday blacklisted the Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya following repeated warnings over its valuable oil cargo.
Previously known as Grace 1, the ship has been bouncing around the Mediterranean after being held for six weeks by Gibraltar on suspicion its cargo was bound for Syria.
Despite Washington’s efforts to keep it detained, it was released by the British territory and its every move is being followed with intense speculation.
The US Department of Treasury on Friday said that the vessel is “blocked property” under an anti-terrorist order, and “anyone providing support to the Adrian Darya 1 risks being sanctioned”.

The ship’s captain, Akhilesh Kumar, was also blacklisted under the order, which generally prohibits dealings with blocked property by Americans.
Lebanon had earlier dismissed Turkish claims that it would receive the ship, which has a cargo of 2.1 million barrels worth around US$140 million.
While Iran has denied selling the oil to its Damascus ally, experts said the likely scenario was for a ship-to-ship transfer, with a Syrian port as the final destination.
Maritime traffic monitors had shown that the Adrian Darya’s latest listed destinations, which are not necessarily the next approved port of call, were in Turkey.


After tracking sites showed Mersin as its destination, it then switched to Iskenderun, prompting a reaction from Turkey’s foreign minister on Friday.
“This tanker is not heading actually to Iskenderun [in Turkey], this tanker is heading to Lebanon,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a visit to Oslo.
Lebanon swiftly dismissed the scenario, stressing that it never buys crude oil because it simply does not have refineries.
“The energy ministry does not buy crude oil from any country and Lebanon does not own a crude oil refinery,” Energy Minister Nada Boustani Khoury said in a statement.
She added that Lebanon had not received any docking request from the tanker.
“There is also no request for the Adrian Darya 1 oil tanker to enter Lebanon,” Boustani said.

According to maritime traffic monitoring websites, the huge tanker is currently just west of the island nation of Cyprus.
Iran said on Monday it had “sold the oil” aboard the tanker and that the owner will decide the destination.
It did not identify the buyer or say whether the oil had been sold before or after the tanker’s detention in the Strait of Gibraltar, on Spain’s southern tip.
The ship was seized by Gibraltar police and British special forces on July 4 and held on suspicion of shipping oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions.
But Iran denied the charge and said it could not name the actual destination due to US “economic terrorism” and its sanctions on Iran’s oil sales.

In July, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps impounded a British-flagged tanker in strategic Gulf waters. Britain called it a tit-for-tat move but Tehran denied any connection.
A court in the British territory ordered the tanker’s release on August 15, despite a last-minute legal bid by the US to have it detained.
The Adrian Darya 1 set sail for the eastern Mediterranean three days after it was released.
According to maritime traffic monitoring websites, the huge tanker has changed direction multiple times, following no apparent logic.
The specialised TankerTrackers social media account noted on Friday after the vessel listed Iskenderun as its destination that little could be read into it.

Just killing time. They might as well just stop moving and save some fuel. pic.twitter.com/GEvbVME2CY
— TankerTrackers.com, Inc.⚓️ (@TankerTrackers) August 30, 2019

“Consider this just a record update rather than anything substantial. We believe a transfer is still a few days away. Turkey will not import this oil,” it said.
It earlier described it as “aimlessly moseying around the Med”.
Tensions between arch-enemies Iran and the US have soared ever since Washington stepped up its campaign of “maximum pressure” against Tehran and reimposed sanctions after leaving the landmark 2015 nuclear deal last year.
Syria, which has ports on the Mediterranean, is also under a raft of US and European sanctions over its eight-year-old conflict.
Russia, which together with Iran, is Damascus’s key ally in the conflict announced on Friday that a ceasefire would come into force in the northwestern region of Idlib.


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United States

US blacklists Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya in Mediterranean

The Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya was formerly known as Grace 1. Photo: AFP

REFILE - CORRECTING GRAMMAR A crew member raises the Iranian flag on Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, as it sits anchored after the Supreme Court of the British territory lifted its detention order, in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain, August 18, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water, Nada Boustani Khoury speaks during an interview with Reuters at her office in Beirut, Lebanon, August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

epaselect epa07779717 View of the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 anchored off Gibraltar, southern Spain, 18 August 2019. The ship prepares to depart from Gibraltar, after authorities denied the US request of seizing the ship and its cargo. According to reports, Iran's ambassador to the UK Hamid Baeidinejad said on 18 August that Iran renamed Grace 1 to 'Adrian Darya', to conform to international laws. The oil tanker was held on 04 July on the suspicion it was transporting crude oil to a refinery in Syria against EU sanctions. EPA-EFE/A. CARRASCO RAGEL

Iran warns US against seizing its supertanker as it heads for Greece

The Grace 1, renamed the Adrian Darya 1, left anchorage off Gibraltar on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Crew members exercise aboard Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 as it sits anchored awaiting a court ruling on whether it can be freed after it was seized in July by British Royal Marines off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory, in the Strait of Gibraltar, southern Spain, August 15, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

epa07779717 View of the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 anchored off Gibraltar, southern Spain, 18 August 2019. The ship prepares to depart from Gibraltar, after authorities denied the US request of seizing the ship and its cargo. According to reports, Iran's ambassador to the UK Hamid Baeidinejad said on 18 August that Iran renamed Grace 1 to 'Adrian Darya', to conform to international laws. The oil tanker was held on 04 July on the suspicion it was transporting crude oil to a refinery in Syria against EU sanctions. EPA-EFE/A. CARRASCO RAGEL

A crew member takes pictures with a mobile phone on Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, as it sits anchored after the Supreme Court of the British territory lifted its detention order, in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain, August 18, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

US issues warrant to seize Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 stuck in Gibraltar

Iranian supertanker Grace 1. Photo: AFP

Gibraltar releases Iranian supertanker despite last-minute attempt by US to seize vessel

A view of the Grace 1 supertanker at anchor in the British territory of Gibraltar on Thursday. Photo: AP

Crew members disembark Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 as it sits anchored awaiting a court ruling on whether it can be freed after it was seized in July by British Royal Marines off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory, in the Strait of Gibraltar, southern Spain, August 15, 2019. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

Attorney General for Gibraltar Michael Llamas (2R) speaks to journalists after leaving the court in the British territory of Gibraltar on August 15, 2019. - Gibraltar's Supreme Court ruled today to release an Iranian supertanker seized last month on suspicion of shipping oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions, despite a last-minute US request to detain the vessel. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)

Britain holds crisis talks over Iran’s seizure of tanker

Two armed members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard inspect the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero. Photo: AP

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at Chatham House in London, Britain July 17, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

In this photo released by state-run IRIB News Agency, which aired on Monday, July 22, 2019, shows various crew members of the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero, that was seized by Tehran in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, during a meeting. The Associated Press cannot independently verify the condition of the crew members, but in the video they looked to be in good health and it didn't appear as though they were being filmed under duress. (IRIB News Agency via AP)

The impounded Iranian crude oil tanker, Grace 1, sits anchored off the coast of Gibraltar, on Saturday, July 20, 2019. Tensions have flared in the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks as Iran resists U.S. sanctions that are crippling its oil exports and lashes out after the seizure on July 4 of one of its ships near Gibraltar. Photographer: Marcelo del Pozo/Bloomberg

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The US Department of Treasury on Friday said that the vessel is ‘blocked property’ under an anti-terrorist order
The ship has been bouncing around the Mediterranean after being held for six weeks by Gibraltar on suspicion its cargo was bound for Syria



The US Department of Treasury on Friday said that the vessel is ‘blocked property’ under an anti-terrorist order, and ‘anyone providing support to the Adrian Darya 1 risks being sanctioned’.


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