This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
On July 4, 2019, Gibraltar authorities detained a supertanker, the Grace 1, carrying crude oil to Syria, a violation of European Union sanctions against Syria.
According to Spain, the vessel was detained at the request of the United States. Iran summoned the British ambassador over what a Foreign Ministry spokesman called an 'illegal' seizure.
Shipping experts said the tanker appeared to be carrying Iranian cargo in the Strait of Gibraltar, attempting to circumvent US sanctions imposed by President Trump to choke off Iran's exports of oil and petrochemical products.
Companies monitoring international shipping said the vessel turned off its electronic tracking devices as it sailed into Iranian waters, then turned them on again after leaving, a tactic often used to evade sanctions.
The government of Gibraltar declined to comment on the cargo's origin but stated that the tanker's destination was the Banyas Refinery in Syria, which is subject to EU sanctions.
Spain's acting foreign minister, Josep Borrell, said the oil tanker had been seized following a request from the United States to the United Kingdom. He added that the Spanish government would study whether the seizure violated its territorial water claims.
A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Sayed Abbas Mousavi, said that Britain's ambassador to Iran, Rob Macaire, had been summoned to the Iranian Embassy over the seizure of the vessel.
