Iranian Tanker has ‘Unloaded’ Sanctioned Crude ‘on Mediterranean Coast’

Iran’s state-owned news agency IRNA says a supertanker that was detained by Gibraltar in early July on suspicion that it was headed for Syria in violation of European Sanctions has “unloaded” its cargo “on the Mediterranean coast.” Following its release in mid-August, the Iranian-flagged vessel was renamed Adrian Darya 1 and, according to officials in Tehran, its cargo, believed to be crude oil, was sold to an unnamed third party as the ship cruised toward the eastern Mediterranean. The mystery surrounding the supertanker deepened last week when it “went dark,” meaning it turned off an electronic signal broadcasting its whereabouts, until a private firm using satellite photos identified it as it lay at anchor off Syria. In a related matter, Iranian state television says a British tanker detained in the Strait of Hormuz in mid-July by Iran’s Islamic Republican Guard Corps – apparently in retaliation for the detention of the Iranian tanker – could be released soon. Several members of its crew were let go last week.