GIBRALTAR, Aug 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The British overseas territory of Gibraltar will on Aug 15 release an Iranian oil tanker that Royal Marines seized in July on suspicion that it was violating EU sanctions on Syria, sources in Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo’s inner circle said.
Tehran denies its Grace 1 supertanker was carrying crude oil to Syria.
“The investigations being conducted around the Grace 1 are a matter for the government of Gibraltar,” a British Foreign Office spokesman had said. “As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment further.”
Meanwhile, the Sun newspaper reported that Picardo would not formally request to renew an order to detain the tanker, saying that he is happy the vessel is no longer bound for Syria.
The current detention order on the vessel expires on Aug 17, a spokesman for Gibraltar has said.
Two weeks after the Grace 1 was detained, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized British tanker Stena Impero near the Strait of Hormuz for alleged marine violations. — NNN-AGENCIES
