Iranian tanker Adrian Darya 1 goes dark off Syria
The Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1 at the center
of a dispute between Tehran and Western powers appears to have turned off its
transponder in the Mediterranean west of Syria, Refinitiv ship-tracking data
showed on Tuesday.
The tanker which is loaded with Iranian crude oil,
sent its last signal giving its position between Cyprus and Syria sailing north
at 15:53 GMT on Monday, the data showed.
The vessel, formerly named Grace 1, was detained by
British Royal Marine commandos off Gibraltar on July 4 as it was suspected to
be en route to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions.
Two weeks later, Iran in retaliation seized a
British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz leading into the Gulf.
Gibraltar released the Iranian vessel on August 15
after receiving formal written assurances from Tehran that the ship would not
discharge its 2.1 million barrels of oil in Syria.
However, shipping sources say the tanker is likely
to try to conduct a ship-to-ship transfer with another vessel for part of its
cargo after Iran said a sale had been concluded.
Washington has warned any state against assisting
the ship, saying it would consider that support for a terrorist organisation,
namely, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The US Treasury Department blacklisted the tanker on
Friday.
