Iranian tanker sought by U.S. heading toward Greece

August 20, 2019 - An Iranian tanker at the centre of a standoff between the U.S. and Iran is set to drag Greece into the dispute, having set sail for Kalamata after it was freed from detention off Gibraltar.

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The Iran-flagged Adrian Darya 1, previously named Grace 1, set course for the Greek port, with an estimated arrival on August 25, according to ship tracking service MarineTraffic. It wasn’t immediately clear why the tanker would be heading there or whether the destination could change.

The vessel left Gibraltar late Sunday after having been detained for a month in the British overseas territory for allegedly attempting to breach European Union sanctions on Syria. Gibraltar authorities rejected attempts by the U.S. to seize the oil tanker again, arguing that EU regulations are less strict than U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Gibraltar said it had been assured by Iran that the tanker wouldn’t unload its cargo in Syria.

Iranian government officials have yet to publicly acknowledge the ship’s next destination, or where it will discharge its cargo of 2.1 million barrels of crude oil. Iran has denied it was ever headed for Syria.

Greece’s Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy said it had received no notification that the supertanker is headed for Kalamata.