U.S. authorities confiscated cargo on board four tankers that were scheduled to deliver fuel from Iran to Venezuela. This was reported on Thursday by the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal.
According to her information, “the administration of [U.S. President Donald] Trump for the first time confiscated the cargo on board the ships, which were supposedly loaded with Iranian fuel in violation of sanctions. The newspaper sources specified that the tankers in question were Bella, Bering, Pandi and Luna.
According to the newspaper, the tankers “were taken under control at sea in recent days. Now they are heading for a port in the American city of Houston (Texas). It is expected that the American administration will also arrive there soon. According to the source, the ships “have been taken under control without the use of military force.
As it follows from the publication, nine tankers with fuel were sent from Iran earlier, including these four vessels. The owners of Bella, Bering, Pandi and Luna were contacted by the US authorities. After that the vessels changed their course and did not follow Venezuela.
The Associated Press agency specified, citing sources, that the U.S. side threatened to impose sanctions on the owners and captains of the ships, as well as on the companies that had insured them. The U.S. was thus trying to force them to hand over the cargo. It now “becomes the property of the United States,” the agency said.