Iranian oil tanker pursued by US says it is going to Turkey
Iranian-flagged oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, pursued by the US amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, now lists its destination as a port in Turkey.
Iranian-flagged oil tanker Adrian Darya 1, pursued by the US amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, now lists its destination as a port in Turkey.
The crew of the Adrian Darya 1, formerly known as the Grace 1, changed its listed destination in its Automatic Identification System to Mesrin, Turkey, early Saturday.
However, mariners can input any destination into the AIS, so Turkey may not be its true destination.
The ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.com showed the Adrian Darya’s position as just south of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, also noting that its destination is Mesrin.
The Adrian Darya was held for weeks off Gibraltar after being seized by authorities there on suspicion of violating EU sanctions on Syria.
The US has a warrant in federal court to seize the ship and has been warning nations not to accept it.
Marine tracking data had shown that the Adrian Darya 1 was headed to Greece. Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis had said that Greece will not provide assistance in delivering oil to Syria to the Iranian tanker.
