Top court rejects shipping company’s appeal over Iranian tanker’s oil

Greece’s Supreme Court rejected on Tuesday an appeal by shipping company Times Navigation Inc against a lower court decision not to seize the cargo of an Iranian-flagged tanker.

Lana was seized in April by Greece for carrying Iranian oil. Times Navigation, owned by the Greek shipowner Ioannis Karageorgis, had signed an agreement in early May with the US Department of Justice to charter two tankers on which the Iranian oil was to be transferred from the Lana tanks under a US seizure request. 

The transfer of part of the cargo to the Ice Energy tanker was completed at the Karystos anchorage on June 2. 

However, a week later the Evia Board of Appeals ordered the cargo to be returned back to the tanks of the Lana and delivered to the Iranian-owned company Saman Gostar Samirom Services. The decision was seen as probably also the result of pressure from the seizure in retaliation by Tehran of two Greek-owned tankers.

The Supreme Court’s decision opens the way for the release of the two Greek tankers.