Pumping of seized Iranian oil stops
The pumping of Iranian oil from the Lana tanker anchored in the Bay of Karystos on Evia stopped on Wednesday morning.
The transfer of 107,000 tons of crude oil to the American-leased tanker Ice Energy began on May 24 after the US ordered its seizure in a sanctions-enforcement action. According to one explanation postulated, the process was stopped for security reasons after a warning issued by the captain of the Lana.
Kathimerini understands that the Russian captain of the tanker sent an email warning that an “explosive environment has been created in the cargo tanks,” due to the crude oil that has remained inside them. He also stated that, due to the removal of part of the cargo, the tanker’s stability has been significantly impacted.
For this reason he requested that the ship be refueled immediately in order to keep the inert gas management system of the tanker in operation. The process is reportedly set to resume on Monday.
The Lana has been docked in the Bay of Karystos since April. The Russian-operated ship had initially been impounded by Greek authorities on the grounds that its was violating sanctions placed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
A Greek court later accepted an American request to confiscate the oil, which it said was Iranian and that its transfer was in violation of sanctions on Iran.
