Advertisement
Advertisement

Iranian tanker reloads oil confiscated by U.S. in Greece

By:
Reuters
Updated: Aug 12, 2022, 18:36 UTC

ATHENS (Reuters) - An Iranian-flagged tanker is reloading oil that was confiscated by the United States earlier this year after Greek authorities approved the release of the cargo, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The Liberian-flagged oil tanker Ice Energy transfers crude oil from the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Lana (former Pegas) off the shore of Karystos

ATHENS (Reuters) -An Iranian-flagged tanker is reloading oil confiscated in April by the United States after Greek authorities approved the release of the cargo, Iran’s embassy in Athens and sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

“The operation to transfer Iran’s stolen oil to the Lana … is underway in Greek waters, and the ship will soon depart for our country with a full shipment of oil,” Iran’s embassy in Greece said on its Twitter account.

“The transfer has started,” a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity, while a second source said the process started on Friday and was expected to be completed in days.

Tehran had previously warned of “punitive action” against Athens over the case, which has strained relations between the two countries after the United States hired a ship to impound the oil from the Lana tanker, when it was anchored off Greece.

The U.S. State Department said in July it was “respectful that this case went through the Greek judicial process”.

The Lana, formerly the Pegas, had been expected to sail to the United States before Greece’s supreme court ruled the cargo should be returned to Iran.

The ship had been anchored off the Greek port of Piraeus since late July waiting to reload part of its oil consignment held on the U.S.-chartered tanker the Ice Energy.

The removal of oil from the Lana prompted Iranian forces in May to seize two Greek tankers in the Middle East Gulf, which have not yet been released.

Claire Jungman, chief of staff with U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, which monitors Iran-related tanker traffic, said Greece “had an opportunity to take a stance”.

“Instead, this decision by the Greek courts tells Iran that there are no repercussions for its hijacking of tankers,” Jungman told Reuters.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Jonathan Saul, additional reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Mark Potter and Alexander Smith)

About the Author

Reuterscontributor

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products:

Did you find this article useful?

Advertisement