Tehran on confiscation of oil from a Russian tanker: "This is an international robbery"

Greece will ship Iranian oil to the US from a seized Russian-flagged tanker at the request of US judicial authorities.

tanker”Pegas”which was heading to the Marmara terminal in Turkey, received mechanical damage to the power plant, because of which he was forced to call rescuers. The tanker in tow reached the Peloponnese and was supposed to reload oil onto another ship there. The plans were thwarted by the aggression of nature – due to unfavorable conditions, it was necessary to anchor at Cape Doro, in the sea area of ​​u200bu200bKarystos.

As soon as the ship was in Greek territorial waters, the Greek coast guard announced its arrest. The decision to block it, according to information protothema.gr, adopted by the Anti-Money Laundering Authority in the context of the implementation of the sanctions that were imposed by NATO and EU in relation to ships flying the Russian flag.

According to a statement by the Greek authorities, the ship was arrested because it was found to belong to a Russian bank that is on the sanctions list. EU in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“The port authority has been instructed to release the vessel,” the source said, without elaborating. The port said that the oil cargo on the ship was not seized. The vessel is operated by Transmorflot, based in Russia.

Yesterday became knownthat the Russian company-owner of the ship filed a lawsuit in connection with the seizure of the Pegas tanker under the Russian flag in Karystos, alleging that the shares in the vessel were transferred to it and do not belong to a Russian bank, which was imposed by the European Union.

The Greek authorities then stated that the obligation taken by the Greek authorities in accordance with the sanctions list, as explained by the Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Mr. Vourliotis, concerns the ship belonging to the sanctioned Russian companies, and not the cargo and, of course, not the crew, which is free to leave the ship and go anywhere.

Nevertheless, as it turned out later, applicants from … the United States also appeared for the tanker’s cargo. The fact is that the oil on board the tanker turned out to be of Iranian origin (115 thousand tons), which means that it automatically becomes the property of pirates USA.

“At the request of the US judiciary, oil will be sent to the United States at the expense of this country,” she said. AFP port police of Greece. Tehran protested strongly, calling the decision “an international robbery,” the Iranian maritime agency said.

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