Iranian vessel the Grace 1, which has been caught up in a heated diplomatic dispute between Tehran and the West, was given permission to leave Gibraltar on 15 August, with the local authorities confirming on Saturday that the US Department of Justice is still seeking to detain the tanker on a number of allegations.
A shipping agent for Iranian supertanker the Grace 1 has claimed that the vessel is prepared to leave Gibraltar in “24 to 48 hours”, despite a last-minute effort by the United States to seize it again, reported AP.
On Saturday the managing director of Astralship, Richard de la Rosa, said logistical preparations had been put into motion, with a new crew of Indian and Ukrainian nationals on standby to take command of the ship.
Data from Refinitiv tracking on Saturday briefly showed the Iranian tanker carrying 2.1 million tonnes of Iranian oil had changed its position status off Gibraltar to underway, but by 12:00 GMT, it said the vessel was still anchored, reported Reuters.
On Friday, the US Justice Department issued a warrant for the seizure of Iranian supertanker the Grace 1. According to it, the vessel, all the oil on board, and $995,000 are subject to forfeiture based on violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), bank fraud, money laundering, and terrorism statutes.
In addition, the document stresses that “a seizure warrant and a forfeiture complaint are merely allegations. The burden to prove forfeitability in a civil forfeiture proceeding is upon the government”, according to the Justice Department.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif slammed the US attempt to seize Grace 1 just hours before Gibraltar was poised to set it free as piracy.