ADVANTAGE SWEET

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Iran confiscates oil from seized tanker

An Iranian court has issued an order confiscating the crude oil cargo from the 'Advantage Sweet' tanker a year after the country’s navy forcibly stopped the ship. The Iran was alternately referring to the cargo or the tanker as American, although the ultimate owners of the vessel registered in the Marshall Islands is a Chinese leasing company that is part of the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. The vessel managed by the Turkish company Genel Denizcilik Nakliyati for Advantage Tankers of Switzerland. At the time of the seizure in April 2023, it was operating under charter to Chevron. The vessel loaded a partial cargo of refined product in Kuwait departing on April 25, 2023, bound for Houston. On April 27, Iranian forces boarded the tanker outbound in the Gulf of Oman and directed it into Iranian waters where it was confiscated under a court order. Iran justified its actions by citing a collision of an unknown ship with an Iranian vessel in the waters of the Persian Gulf, which resulted in the loss of two people and the injury of several other crew members. They alleged at the time that the 'Advantage Sweet' struck the vessel and kept on sailing. The court ruled after a lawsuit was filed by Iranian patients suffering from a rare genetic skin disorder, Epidermolysis Bullosa. The suit reportedly is based on the refusal of a Swedish manufacturer of specialized bandages and dressing to sell the supplies to Iran due to the U.S. and Western sanctions. There was no mention of the previous accusations of the collision with the Iranian vessel. Iran said the cargo was then confiscated under the court order. They were valuing the cargo at approximately $50 million. Timing of the seizure of the 'Advantage Sweet' came shortly after reports emerged that the U.S. had moved to seize an Iranian oil cargo of approximately one million barrels aboard the Greek tanker 'Suez Rajan', which at that time was anchored off Singapore. The U.S. action was taken on behalf of the families of the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York and Washington D.C. The cargo was ultimately offloaded in Texas and sold with the proceeds going to the compensation fund. The seizure of the 'Advantage Sweet' was one of several reported by Iran which also included the January 2024 seizure of the 'St Nikolas' (ex 'Suez Rajan') which had been directly involved in the 2023 incident. Iran had vowed retaliation for the taking of its oil cargo. Iran is currently holding a total of 90 crewmembers and has seized five tankers. Previously, Iran held Greek tankers when it was involved in a dispute with Greece which impounded a tanker that Iran claimed ownership of after it previously was identified as a Russian tanker. The U.S. lost a court battle in Greece to also seize the cargo from that vessel.

Seized tankers located off Bandar Abbas

The 'Advantage Sweet' and the 'Niovi' were located just south of Bandar Abbas near a naval base in the port city in Iran’s Hormozgan province on May 6. Iran seized the 'Advantage Sweet', with 23 Indians and one Russian crew member on board, on April 27 as it sailed in the Gulf of Oman. Tehran claimed the vessel had struck another ship, though tracking data for the 'Advantage Sweet' showed no erratic behavior on its trip. The tanker carried Kuwaiti crude oil for American energy firm Chevron Corp. of San Ramon at the time of its capture. And its seizure comes as another tanker, the 'Suez Rajan', which was believed to be carrying Iranian crude disappeared from anchorage off Singapore a year after being identified as trying to evade U.S. sanctions. The 'Suez Rajan' was seized by order of American authorities. Report with photos: https://nypost.com/2023/05/07/satellite-photos-reveal-oil-tankers-seized-by-iran-anchored-off-port-city/

EMASoH demands release of tankers

Several countries in the EMASoH operation in the Strait of Hormuz, demanded that Iran immediately release the two tankers 'Advantage Sweet' and 'Niovi', which units from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard have seized. The first ship, the 'Advantage Sweet', was boarded by the Revolutionary Guard on April 27, 2023, in the Gulf of Oman, while the 'Niovi' was on its way out of the Strait of Hormuz when it was boarded on May 3. Both ships are now in Iranian waters off Bandar Abbas. EMASoH stated that the hijacking of the two ships took place in international waters and in violation of international law. The hijacking is a threat to safety at sea and the right to free navigation, it said in the declaration. EMASoH requird that the ships, crews and cargoes be released immediately and that the crews are treated well until this happens. Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal participate in EMASoH, which stands for European Maritime Awareness mission in the Strait of Hormuz. Report with photo: https://maritimedanmark.dk/?Id=50414