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US confiscates Iranian petrol in ship-to-ship transfers at sea
By: Financial Times | August 14, 2020

• Trump administration expects seizures will deter shipping companies from dealing with Iran and Venezuela

The United States confiscated nearly 1.2 million barrels of Iranian oil that was allegedly destined for Venezuela in a series of ship-to-ship transfers at sea, according to two U.S. officials.

In the first such seizure, a Greek shipowner agreed to relinquish the cargo after being contacted by the United States, they said, adding that the government estimated the transport to be worth $ 40 million.

“This sends a clear signal to the maritime community to avoid any dealings with the Iranian regime,” a senior administration official told the Financial Times, adding that the “flawless” operation was the result of the policy of ” maximum pressure “from the Trump administration on Iran.

US authorities are concerned about the increase in economic activity between Iran and Venezuela. At the end of May, they traced the Greek shipping tycoon with two of the many tankers they tracked carrying Iranian oil to Venezuela. The tycoon later informed US officials of the location of two other ships carrying Iranian oil, the two US officials said.

In July, the US Department of Justice filed a civil action for confiscation of the fuel cargo, naming the ships carrying it as Bella, Bering, Luna and Pandi, and alleging that the gasoline was headed for Venezuela.

I still want to have a legal cargo and a legal destination and that’s what I thought we had.

The lawsuit named an Iranian-based person who the United States said was linked to the country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as the individual who organized the expeditions.

US prosecutors also cited a text message to the Iran-based person of an unidentified co-conspirator about the Bella and the Bering that read: “The shipowner does not want to leave because of the American threat but we want him to go, and we even agreed that we [sic] will also buy the vessel ”.

A Washington judge approved a warrant of seizure shortly after the lawsuit was filed.

Two US officials have named the shipping magnate who owns the four ships as Giorgios Gialozoglou, also known as “George”. A US lawyer for Mr. Gialozoglou did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.

Last month, Mr. Gialozoglou told Lloyd’s List: “We are not a party to any conspiracy. We have nothing to do with the IRGC. . . We are not going to break the sanctions and we will obey the law. I still want to have a legal cargo and a legal destination and that’s what I thought we had.

U.S. officials said the ships were deregistered from their Liberian flag following an effort led by the State Department.

The cargo was then voluntarily transferred into the hands of the United States at two separate locations – the first in July from two ships to a single vessel under contract with the United States, and the second last week through a similar process. The US departments of justice, homeland security and state, as well as the coast guard, were all involved.

“We’ve never done anything like this before,” said a US official.

The gasoline was on its way to Houston in two ships due to arrive next month within a week of each other, according to US officials.

Hojat Soltani, Iranian ambassador to Venezuela, said in a Tweeter in Spanish, that the ships were not Iranian and that neither the shipowner nor his flag had anything to do with Iran, describing the allegations attributed to US officials as lies and propaganda.

The Trump administration has stepped up in recent months its efforts to disrupt Iran’s activities, increasingly concerned about Tehran’s development of relations with Caracas.

The United States seeks to alienate the president from power, Nicolás Maduro, whom it does not recognize as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the US seizure of Iranian cargo.

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