Tehran, Aug 18, IRNA – Iranian Ambassador to London in a message said the recently-released Iranian supertanker Grace 1 was not renamed due to circumventing sanctions because it is simply under no sanctions.
Renaming Grace 1 has brought about a misunderstanding of circumventing sanctions, Hamid Baeidinejad wrote in his Twitter account.
This is while, Panama was against the continuation of Grace 1 tanker under its flag, he added.
Based on maritime regulations, the flag of the ship is subject to its registration place, he noted.
Baeidinejad emphasized the fact that the tanker is under no sanctions and based on the official bill of landing, its oil belongs to the National Iranian Oil Company.
Earlier, Deputy Head of Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran Jalil Eslami said Oil tanker Grace 1 was renamed Adrian Daria, adding that when the oil tanker was in detention in Gibraltar, Panama ended use of the country's flag for it, as the owner of the vessel requested for the oil tanker to carry Iranian flag.
"Grace 1 was renamed Adrian Daria whose next destination after detention is the Mediterranean Sea," he said, noting that it seems it will face no specific problem en route for the sea and next destination.
Grace 1, a supertanker carrying Iranian oil, was seized earlier this month by British Royal Marines off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory of Gibraltar on suspicion of violating sanctions against Syria.
The Gibraltar court decided to release the crew of the ship, but the US was trying to block the release of Grace 1.
The US was struggling to block the release of the tanker, but in defiance of its attempts, Gibraltar court issued a ruling to release the ship.
Meanwhile, Baeidinejad in a message confirmed the release of oil tanker Grace 1 late.
He said that following a decision by Gibraltar's officials, the illegal detention of an oil tanker carrying Iran's oil was lifted moments earlier.
