- Seized Iranian Oil Supertanker Fully Loaded
The government of the British territory, Gibraltar, on Monday said the seized Iranian supertanker, Grace 1, was fully loaded with crude oil.
British Royal Marines had seized the ship on Thursday over accusation it was breaking sanctions by supplying crude oil to Syria.
“Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar can now confirm, after having received the results of comprehensive laboratory testing, that … the Grace 1, which was detained in the early hours of Thursday morning, is loaded to capacity with crude oil,” the government said in a statement.
“The results of these tests … contradict the statements of some commentators from outside the jurisdiction who had speculated that the cargo on the vessel was not crude.”
Iran, however, denies ever breaking any European sanction and likened the dramatic seizure to “an act of piracy.”
Angry Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said the embattled nation is not under any obligation to adhere to EU sanctions.
“Iran is neither a member of the EU nor subject to any European oil embargo. Last I checked, EU was against extraterritoriality. UK’s unlawful seizure of a tanker with Iranian oil on behalf of #B Team is piracy, pure and simple,” Javad Zarif tweeted on Monday.
Since the US imposed sanctions on Iranian, the country’s crude oil exports have dropped to 300,000 bpd, lower than previously anticipated.
Experts have said if the issue in the Gulf region is not well managed, global oil prices could jump above $100 a barrel, given the current global slowdown.
