Transshipment of almost 60,000 tons of Iranian oil confiscated in Greece back to the Iranian tanker Lana has been completed.
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The tanker Lana (former Pegasus), formerly under the Russian flag and then changed its name and owner, was arrested in mid-April and remained at anchor due to a mechanical breakdown near the port of Karystos on the island of Euboea. By decision of the court of first instance, Iranian oil was confiscated in favor of the United States, part of it was reloaded onto the Greek tanker Ice Energy for shipment to America. Iran called the seizure of the ship’s cargo “a prime example of international piracy” for which Athens and those who illegally seized the ship are responsible.
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In response to the arrest of the tanker and the confiscation of its oil, Iran seized two Greek tankers, Delta Poseidon and Prudent Warrior, in the Persian Gulf. The Greek courts ruled that the oil confiscation was illegal and ordered the return of 60,000 metric tons of crude oil from the 104,134 tons that Lana was transporting in her tanks.
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More than two weeks after the decision of the Supreme Court, the Ice Energy tanker with the confiscated oil approached Lana on August 11, and oil transshipment began on August 12.
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The Iranian embassy in Greece on Friday noted that “in Greek waters, the stolen Iranian oil is being transferred to the Lana (Iranian oil ship), and it will soon leave for our country with a full cargo of oil.”
