Seized Iranian Supertanker Departs Gibraltar, After US Arrest Warrant Was Rejected

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On August 18^th, the Iranian tanker Adrian Darya 1, formerly named Grace 1 departed Gibraltar after 46 days of detainment.

….and there she goes! After 46 days in Gibraltar Waters sparking an international incident with Iran, the Adrian Darya, formerly the Grace 1, is leaving… pic.twitter.com/IdxWFgVBwm

— GBC News (@GBCNewsroom) August 18, 2019

BREAKING: ADRIAN DARYA I, the Iranian VLCC supertanker fully laden with 2.1 million barrels of Iranian light crude oil and formerly known as the Panamanian-flagged GRACE 1, has now departed UK/Gibraltar waters for Spanish waters. pic.twitter.com/oyZn5GQk0q

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc.⚓️? (@TankerTrackers) August 18, 2019

Initially the ship started sailing towards international waters, approximately 9 nautical miles from them it suddenly halted to a stop.

From this point, there's around 9 nautical miles left to go before reaching international waters. pic.twitter.com/1RWYgO43tU

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc.⚓️? (@TankerTrackers) August 18, 2019

It was unclear why it stopped, but just 30 minutes later it started moving again, having changed course.

The vessel has now changed its course slightly in order to reach international waters at soonest. Should reach it in an hour at this pace, however she is moving at about 2/3rd the speed she held during her voyage to the Mediterranean Sea from Iran. pic.twitter.com/zd7XjpiWam

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc.⚓️? (@TankerTrackers) August 18, 2019

On the morning of August 19^th, it turned out that the Adrian Darya 1 was heading towards Kalamata, Greece as its destination.

Good morning!

As of 4 hours ago, the ADRIAN DARYA 1 has been heading east to KALAMATA, GREECE. That is her destination for the time being. #OOTT pic.twitter.com/chAGD4M0SO

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc.⚓️? (@TankerTrackers) August 19, 2019

The New York Times on August 15^th reported that the Iranian tanker would first sail to Greece and then to Italy.

In a last-ditch effort to stop the Iranian tanker, the US Department of Justice issued a warrant for the seizure of “Grace 1, all petroleum aboard it and $995,000.00.”

“The documents allege a scheme to unlawfully access the U.S. financial system to support illicit shipments to Syria from Iran by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated foreign terrorist organization.  The scheme involves multiple parties affiliated with the IRGC and furthered by the deceptive voyages of the Grace 1.  A network of front companies allegedly laundered millions of dollars in support of such shipments.”

Tehran said that the crude oil loaded on the ship wasn’t to be delivered to Syria, but that fell on deaf ears.

The US request for the seizure of the Iranian tanker was rejected on August 18^th.

“The Gibraltar Central Authority is unable seek an Order of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar to provide the restraining assistance required by the United States of America.

The Central Authority’s inability to seek the Orders requested is a result of the operation of European Union law and the differences in the sanctions regimes applicable to Iran in the EU and the US.

The EU sanctions regime against Iran – which is applicable in Gibraltar – is much narrower than that applicable in the US,” the Gibraltar government said in a statement.

On August 15^th, when the release of the Adrian Darya 1 was officially announced, Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo released a video statement on the matter.

According to the Gibraltar government the timeline of the Grace 1 seizure and release was the following:

• On July 3^rd, the very large crude carrier, Grace 1 was specified under Sanctions Regulations by Picardo. This was a result of receiving information that led the government to believe that the crude oil on board was to be delivered to Syria. Where that information originated from was unmentioned;
• At 2am on 4th July 2019, the Grace 1 was detained by the Gibraltar law enforcement agencies with the support of the Royal Marines;
• In this time, investigations have been conducted which have produced evidence confirming that at the time of its detention the Grace 1 was indeed carrying its cargo to the Baniyas refinery in Syria. This was in contravention of Article 14 of the EU Regulation on Sanctions on Syria;
• The Chief Minister said that the detention of the vessel related exclusively to the implementation of sanctions against Syria;
• In the following almost 6 weeks, representatives from Gibraltar and Iran met repeatedly, to facilitate the release of Grace 1 pursuant to the satisfaction of all legal requirements;
• During that time, the owner of the cargo was confirmed to be the National Iranian Oil Company and the vessel has been re-flagged under the flag of Iran itself and re-insured. The ship was initially Panama-flagged;
• On 13 August, the Chief Minister received written assurance from the Republic of Iran that, if released, the destination of Grace 1 would not be an entity that is subject to European Union sanctions.

Essentially, Gibraltar carried out due process and, despite taking a while, released the ship after receiving sufficient evidence that nothing prohibited would take place.

A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said there was “no comparison or linkage between Iran’s unacceptable and illegal seizure of, and attacks on, commercial shipping vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the enforcement of EU Syria sanctions by the Government of Gibraltar.”

Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran’s ambassador to the UK said that the tanker’s release was a “miserable defeat” for Washington.

آمریکا با تلاشهای مذبوحانه ی آخرین لحظه ی خود قصد داشت مانع رفع توقیف نفتکش شود که با شکست تحقیرآمیزی مواجه شد.
با تلاشهای روزهای گذشته تمام مقدمات و تمهیدات فنی لازم برای حرکت نفتکش به دریای آزاد نیز تامین شده است و کشتی بزودی منطقه ی جبل الطارق را ترک خواهد نمود.

— Hamid Baeidinejad (@baeidinejad) August 15, 2019

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote, “The U.S. attempted to abuse the legal system to steal our property on the high seas. This piracy attempt is indicative of Trump admin’s contempt for the law.”

Having failed to accomplish its objectives through its #EconomicTerrorism—including depriving cancer patients of medicine— the US attempted to abuse the legal system to steal our property on the high seas.

This piracy attempt is indicative of Trump admin's contempt for the law.

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) August 15, 2019

Zarif, however, did also say that the detention was illegal to begin with.

Our London Embassy note to UKFCO:
-Protested the illegal detention of Grace1;
-Repeated public statements about destination; &
-Made it crystal clear that EU sanctions do NOT apply to Iran—a position shared by most Europeans.

Nothing changes the fact: detention was 100% unlawful pic.twitter.com/lwJ2gYKpf6

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) August 15, 2019

On the morning of August 19^th, Iran warned against “plots” to seize the Adrian Darya 1, specifically by the US.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told reporters at a press conference that any such move “would endanger shipping safety” and have “grave consequences.”

“We have issued a warning through official channels, especially the Swiss embassy,” he added.

It should be reminded that the UK-flagged Stena Impero, which was seized by Iran on July 19^th, for violating international maritime rules, is still detained. Regardless, this appears to be a big diplomatic win for the Iranian side against the US campaign.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• Gibraltar Authorities Release Iranian Supertanker Grace 1