Plakiotakis: No formal request by Iranian tanker to dock in Kalamata
No “formal request” has been submitted so far to Greek authorities by the the Iranian tanker wanted by US authorities to dock at the port of Kalamata or any other port, Shipping Minister Yiannis Plakiotakis said on Tuesday.
The Grace 1, renamed the Adrian Darya 1, was released from detention off the British territory of Gibraltar on Sunday is reportedly heading toward the port of Kalamata in southern Greece.
According to ship tracking data, expected to arrive in Kalamata this Sunday.
Speaking to broadcaster Skai on Tuesday morning, Plakiotakis said the matter is being closely monitored by the Greek Foreign and Shipping ministries.
The tanker, carrying about 2 million barrels of oil valued at tens of millions of US dollars, had been seized on July 4 by the British Royal Marines near Gibraltar on suspicion of transporting oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions.
Washington wants the tanker’s seizure on the grounds that it was linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – designated a terrorist organization by the US.
Gibraltar said on Sunday that it was bound by European Union law and could not comply with the American request.
