The Iranian oil tanker that the U.S.
sought to seize in Gibraltar has changed its heading to southern Turkey,
raising concern that its cargo will end up in Syria.
The Iranian-flagged Adrian Darya 1
switched its destination to the Turkish port city of Mersin, located just 150
kilometers from the border with Syria, on Friday evening, according to
Bloomberg vessel-tracking data. The ship had previously stated its destination
as being Kalamata in Greece, a port that is too small to accommodate a ship of
that size.
The tanker, which previously flew the
flag of Panama and went under the name Grace 1, is estimated to arrive in
Mersin at noon on Aug. 31. It was impounded off Gibraltar in July and released
last Sunday after local authorities rejected a legal attempt by the U.S. to
detain it. Adrian Darya is currently sailing along the southern coast of
Sicily.
The Adrian Darya oil tanker sits off
the coast of Gibraltar on Aug. 18.
Iran has given assurances to the
government of Gibraltar that the ship will not sail to Syria. The ship’s
Automatic Identification System shows that the draft of the ship -- how deep it
sits in the water -- is 22.1 meters, indicating that Adrian Darya still has its
full cargo of 2 million barrels of crude oil on board. The draft is manually
entered into the AIS by the ship’s captain, so it could be misleading, though
there is no evidence that the cargo has been discharged.
Turkey accepting the ship risks
further fueling tensions with the U.S., at a time when relations have been
strained over Turkey’s decision to buy a missile defense system from Russia.
Turkey’s government declined to
comment on whether they would allow the ship to dock at Mersin. Officials at
the Foreign Ministry in Iran did not immediately respond to calls from
Bloomberg to comment on the the tanker’s route.
The ship could discharge its cargo
onto smaller vessels in a process called a ship-to-ship transfer. The smaller
tankers would then deliver the crude oil to its final destination. Adrian Darya
could switch off its transponder before starting the ship-to-ship transfer in
an attempt to conceal what was happening. However, that might not be enough to
hide a ship that is being so closely monitored.
— With assistance by Selcan Hacaoglu, and
Arsalan Shahla
The Adrian Darya oil tanker sits off
the coast of Gibraltar on Aug. 18.Iran has given assurances to the
government of Gibraltar that the ship will not sail to Syria. The ship’s
Automatic Identification System shows that the draft of the ship -- how deep it
sits in the water -- is 22.1 meters, indicating that Adrian Darya still has its
full cargo of 2 million barrels of crude oil on board. The draft is manually
entered into the AIS by the ship’s captain, so it could be misleading, though
there is no evidence that the cargo has been discharged.
Turkey accepting the ship risks
further fueling tensions with the U.S., at a time when relations have been
strained over Turkey’s decision to buy a missile defense system from Russia.
Turkey’s government declined to
comment on whether they would allow the ship to dock at Mersin. Officials at
the Foreign Ministry in Iran did not immediately respond to calls from
Bloomberg to comment on the the tanker’s route.
The ship could discharge its cargo
onto smaller vessels in a process called a ship-to-ship transfer. The smaller
tankers would then deliver the crude oil to its final destination. Adrian Darya
could switch off its transponder before starting the ship-to-ship transfer in
an attempt to conceal what was happening. However, that might not be enough to
hide a ship that is being so closely monitored.
— With assistance by Selcan Hacaoglu, and
Arsalan Shahla