Gibraltar rejects U.S. pressure to hold Iranian oil tanker

The vessel has been detained for over a month in Gibraltar for allegedly attempting to breach European Union sanctions on Syria.

A crew member takes pictures with a mobile phone of Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya-1 that sits anchored after the Supreme Court of the British territory lifted its detention order, in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain on August 18, 2019.

Authorities in Gibraltar say they are rejecting the United States’ renewed request that the British overseas territory not release an Iranian supertanker.

The vessel has been detained for over a month in Gibraltar for allegedly attempting to breach European Union sanctions on Syria.

In a statement on August 18, Gibraltar’s government said the ship would be free to go, as U.S. sanctions on Iran had no equivalent in the United Kingdom or the rest of the EU.

The U.S. had unsealed a warrant on August 16 to seize the vessel, a day after Gibraltar lifted the ship’s detention.

The vessel remains at anchor off Gibraltar, laden with 2.1 million barrels of Iranian light crude oil.

A new crew is expected to arrive and sail the tanker to an undisclosed destination as early as August 18.