© Baltic ShippingBonita Queen tanker
A new report suggests we could be headed toward yet another
Grace 1-type incident and showdown involving an Iranian tanker intercept by US or UK forces.
A tanker full of Iranian oil is said to be currently on its way to Dubai, with an ultimate offload destination of its 600,000 barrels of oil in Syria. According to the breaking Fox report, citing unnamed
Western intelligence sources:
The Bonita Queen loaded 600,000 barrels of crude oil on August 2 near the Iranian coast at Kharg Island. Shortly after, the tanker was de-flagged by the country of St. Kitts and Nevis, fearing retaliatory U.S. sanctions.
The vessel is now headed to Dubai, where it will refuel before beginning a months-long journey around the horn of Africa, through the Mediterranean and to the shores of Syria.
The
Bonita Queen, according to its reported route, intends to link up with two Syrian-owned tankers in the Mediterranean in the coming months, where
it will conduct a ship-to-ship transfer of the Iran-sourced crude. Analysts have claimed to
identify the Syrian tankers as the "
Kader" and "
Jasmine"
— described as owned by a businessman said to be close to Assad, Muhammad al-Qatirji. Qatirji and his firm, the Qatirji Company, are
under sanction by the US Treasury.
The news comes just as the newly released from Gibraltar/UK custody Iran-flagged
Adrian Darya, previously called the
Grace 1, is on the move and is headed to waters off Greece.
Comment: Sputnik reports that the US plans to prevent the Iranian
Grace 1 tanker delivering its shipment, meanwhile Gibraltar rejects the US order telling them that they, the EU, take a different stance towards Iranian sanctions - and then, as usual, the US threatens anyone defying their diktats with sanctions:
US Will Act to Prevent Iranian Tanker From Delivering Oil to Syria - Pompeo
The United States will take every action to prevent the Iranian tanker Grace 1 from delivering oil to Syria, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters.
"If that ship again heads to Syria, we will take every action we can consistent with those sanctions to prevent that," Pompeo said on Tuesday.
On Friday, the United States issued a warrant to seize Grace 1 while the tanker was still in Gibraltar's waters in order to confiscate all its cargo and $995,000 for alleged sanctions violations. However, Gibraltar rejected Washington's request, citing a difference between the United States' and European Union's stance regarding sanctions on Iran.
Iran said on Sunday that Grace 1 had set out into international waters after its release from Gibraltar by the UK authorities. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Tehran had warned Washington against seizing the supertanker in the open sea.
However, Pompeo reiterated the United States' position for punitive measures against anyone who will assist the Iranian supertanker.
"We have made clear that anyone who touches it, anyone who supports it, anyone who allows a ship to dock is at risk of receiving sanctions from the United States of America," Pompeo said.
Iran's judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi said on Monday that releasing Grace 1 was not enough and called for legal proceedings to recompense and set an example for all those who violate international law by seizing ships.
See also:
Comment: Sputnik reports that the US plans to prevent the Iranian Grace 1 tanker delivering its shipment, meanwhile Gibraltar rejects the US order telling them that they, the EU, take a different stance towards Iranian sanctions - and then, as usual, the US threatens anyone defying their diktats with sanctions: See also: