The port and law enforcement agencies of Gibraltar, assisted by Royal Marines, detained on Thursday at the request of the United States a super tanker Grace 1, believed to be carrying crude oil to the Syrian Banyas refinery, according to Spain's acting Foreign Minister Josep Borrell
MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th July, 2019) The port and law enforcement agencies of Gibraltar, assisted by Royal Marines, detained on Thursday at the request of the United States a super tanker Grace 1, believed to be carrying crude oil to the Syrian Banyas refinery, according to Spain's acting Foreign Minister Josep Borrell.
"We [Spain] were aware of this operation, patrol ships were controlling the area. We are studying the circumstances. The United States asked the United Kingdom to do this," Borrell told reporters.
Fabian Picardo, the chief minister of the UK overseas territory of Gibraltar, issued a statement on the situation earlier in the day.
"We have detained the vessel and its cargo. This action arose from information giving the Gibraltar Government reasonable grounds to believe that the vessel, the Grace 1, was acting in breach of European Union sanctions against Syria. In fact, we have reason to believe that the Grace 1 was carrying its shipment of crude oil to the Banyas Refinery in Syria. That refinery is the property of an entity that is subject to European Union sanctions against Syria," Picardo said.
Picardo added that he had informed the presidents of the European Commission and Council about the incident.
Grace 1, a Panama-flagged extra large oil tanker, was carrying two million barrels of crude oil, the origin of which remains unconfirmed by the government, according to the local Gibraltar Chronicle newspaper.
