[Catfish]

It seems the UK seizing the tanker Grace 1 at Gibraltar acted under direct order from Washington.

"Legal Basis: Grace 1 headed for "wrong" addressees in Syria
There are no EU sanctions for importing oil into Syria - authorities in Gibraltar rely on the Start Regulation.
July 21, 2019, 18:27

The seizure of Grace 1 by the authorities of Gibraltar on 4 July is usually explained simply as "EU sanctions" against Syria. But it's about a start regulation.

Gibraltar extended the halting of Iranian oil tanker Grace 1 on Friday to mid-August. Only hours later, the Iranians in the Gulf of Oman grabbed a British ship. Although it was first given adventurous Ad-hoc reasons, but the connection with Gibraltar on the other hand is not disputed.

The seizure of Grace 1 on July 4 by the authorities of Gibraltar - which is British territory - is mostly explained medially simply with "EU sanctions" against Syria, where the Grace 1 was supposed to go. That has caused confusion. In fact, in the relevant EU regulations of 2012, which were last updated in 2019, there seems to be no oil import ban on Syria: only export of Syrian oil from regime-controlled areas is under embargo.

Controversial addressee

However, the legal basis for the retention of Grace 1 was served by a decree issued by the governor of Gibraltar: Grace 1's freight should therefore go to the Banias Refinery Company, which appears on the EU sanction list. This would not allow delivery through UK territorial waters. Spain, whose waters were previously affected, had done nothing, however. That's one of the reasons why Madrid does not comment on Grace 1 because it does not recognize Britain's claim to the waters off Gibraltar.

Interestingly, according to The Syria Report, just one day earlier, on July 3, Gibraltar had changed its own regulations that allowed it to stop Grace 1 on July 4: ships could be confiscated, the EU Break sanctions.

However, there are speculations that the authorities in Gibraltar acted under pressure from the US and London itself was almost taken by surprise. Although the rationale is EU law based, the decision could have been influenced by the US. The US is threatening with sanctions on countries involved in oil supplies to Syria. This also applies to the financial and logistical handling or insurance matters.

Panama withdraws registration

In any case, Panama, under whose flag the Grace 1 sailed, seems to follow Gibraltar's argument - or US pressure too. The Panama Maritime Authority deprived the ship of registration at the end of June, citing the suspicion that Grace 1 was dealing with "terrorist financing".

However, oil supplies to Syria have been on the rise in recent months, reports "The Syria Report," referring to Tanker Trackers. It is common knowledge that Iran and Russia supply oil to Syria. Most shipments have been through the Suez Canal. In early July, it was reported that the Egyptian authorities had prevented a Ukrainian oil tanker carrying Iranian oil from crossing the Channel for Syria. This was later denied by the Suez Canal Administration.

The Grace 1 sailed the much longer Gibraltar route because it was too heavy for the Suez Canal. It is a so-called VLCC, Very Large Crude Carrier, which can carry two million barrels (318 million liters) of oil fully loaded - which is the Grace 1. (Gudrun Harrer, 21.7.2019)"

From The Standard (translation by Google) https://www.derstandard.de/story/200...n-in-syrien-an