Gibraltar Releases Seized Iranian Ship Despite US Objections, Sanction Threats
Gibraltar released an Iranian tanker it had seized for possible violations of European Union sanctions, rejecting requests from the U.S. to continue detaining the ship.
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Gibraltar’s chief minister released the ship on Aug. 15 after meeting with Iranian officials and receiving “written assurance” from Iran that the ship would not be used to violate EU sanctions, Gibraltar’s minister said in an Aug. 15 statement. The U.S. had urged Gibraltar not to release the ship, Grace 1, according to the Associated Press. The State Department on Aug. 15 said Grace 1 was helping the U.S.-sanctioned Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps by transporting oil from Iran to Syria and threatened “serious consequences” for anyone associated with the ship.
“The United States will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to deny Iran and its proxies the resources they need to engage in malign and destabilizing activities in Syria and elsewhere,” the State Department said. “This includes the full enforcement of U.S. sanctions with respect to Iran and the IRGC.”
Grace 1 was originally seized by Gibraltar Port and Law Enforcement in Gibraltar territorial waters on July 4 after British authorities suspected it of shipping oil to Syria, which would have violated EU sanctions (see 1907080022). Britain later said it would be willing to release the ship if Iran could provide proof the ship was not transporting oil to Syria (see 1907150015).
Although Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar’s chief minister, said the U.K. authorities confirmed that the ship was carrying oil to the Baniyas refinery in Syria, Iran later offered Gibraltar assurances that the ship, if released, would not make the delivery. “I welcome that assurance,” Picardo said in the statement. “This is an important material change in the destination of the vessel and the beneficiary of its cargo.” He added that Iran’s assurance helped deprive the Syrian regime of more than $140 million worth of oil. Because of the assurance, “there are no longer any reasonable grounds” for detaining the ship, Picardo said.
Picardo added that the U.S. Justice Department asked Gibraltar to begin a “new legal procedure for the detention of the vessel,” but Picardo said the matter would be decided by legal authorities in “separate proceedings.”
In a July 29 letter to Gibraltar, released by Gibraltar on Aug. 15, Iran said the ship “was not destined to an EU sanctioned entity” and that “remains the case.” Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister and spokesperson, criticized the U.S.’s attempt to further detain the ship, saying on Aug. 15 that the U.S. “attempted to abuse the legal system to steal our property on the high seas.”
Iran recently seized a British-flagged oil tanker, the Stena Impero, which could be released after Gibraltar’s decision on Grace 1, the AP said.