By Marco Trujillo and Jon Nazca GIBRALTAR, Aug 16 (Reuters) - An Iranian tanker caught in the standoff between Tehran and the West shifted position on Friday, but its anchor was still down off Gibraltar and it was unclear if it was ready to set sail soon. Gibraltar authorities could not be reached for comment. The Grace 1 was seized by British Royal Maringes at the … [Read more...]
Gibraltar Decides to Free Seized Iranian Tanker, U.S. Opens Case to Hold It
By Guy Faulconbridge and Marco Trujillo LONDON/GIBRALTAR, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Britain's Mediterranean territory Gibraltar decided on Thursday to free a seized Iranian oil tanker, but did not immediately indicate when or if the ship would set sail after the United States launched a new, last-minute legal bid to hold it. The Grace 1 was seized by British Royal Marine … [Read more...]
Iran Claims Britain Might Release Seized Tanker Soon
By Parisa Hafezi and Guy Faulconbridge DUBAI/LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The British territory of Gibraltar will not yet release an Iranian oil tanker seized by Royal Marines in the Mediterranean despite an Iranian report that it could do so on Tuesday, an official Gibraltar source said. The commandeering of the Grace 1 on July 4 exacerbated frictions between Tehran and the … [Read more...]
Britain Rules Out Tanker Swap with Iran
BANGKOK, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Britain on Thursday ruled out exchanging an Iranian tanker detained by Gibraltar for a British-flagged tanker seized by Iran in the Gulf. "We are not going to barter: if people or nations have detained UK-flagged illegally then the rule of law and rule of international law must be upheld," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said while on a trip to … [Read more...]
Flags of Inconvenience: Noose Tightens Around Iranian Shipping
By Jonathan Saul, Parisa Hafezi and Marianna Parraga LONDON/DUBAI/PANAMA CITY, July 26 (Reuters) - Somewhere on its journey from the waters off Iran, around Africa's southern tip and into the Mediterranean, the Grace 1 oil tanker lost the flag under which it sailed and ceased to be registered to Panama. Iran later claimed it as its own. The ship carrying 2 million barrels of … [Read more...]