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Iran claims oil aboard Adrian Darya 1 has been sold
Iran
A spokesman for the Iranian government has told local media that the oil cargo aboard the Adrian Darya 1, formerly known as Grace 1, has been sold, though the buyer has not been disclosed.
When asked whether the vessel was sailing for Qatar, Ali Rabiee said: “ e owner of the pur- chased oil would determine at which coast it will berth. I don’t know its destination.”
Rabiee did not allude to the terms of the sale, though at current market rates, the crude oil could be worth around $125mn.
At time of going to press, Adrian Darya 1 was duewestofCretewithitsstatussetas“fororder”. It had been destined for Kalamata in Greece, then the Turkish port of Mersin, but the appar- ent buyer has yet to determine the location for the o oad.
Reports over the weekend suggested that the cargo had been sold to Qatar, however, to pass through the Suez Canal it would rst have to o oad at least some of the cargo or to transfer it to smaller vessels. is would o er the bene t of obfuscating the volume of sales to separate buy- ers, but the tanker is likely to need to disable its transponder to hide any such exchanges.
It was impounded during the British Royal Navy operation o the coast of Gibraltar on July 4 amid suspicions that its 2.1mn barrel oil cargo was headed for Syria.
e Trump administration had attempted to seize the Iranian supertanker, currently moving from port to port in the Mediterranean after being released last week by the Gibraltarian gov- ernment. Pressure from the uS led to Greece refusing to o er the use of its facilities.
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 34 27•August•2019
