ATHENS (Archyde.com) – The Iranian embassy in Athens and informed sources said on Friday that an Iranian-flagged tanker had begun reloading an oil shipment seized by the United States in April, after Greek authorities agreed to release the shipment.
“The process of transferring the stolen Iranian oil to Lana… is underway in Greek waters and the ship will soon leave for our country with a full shipment of oil,” the Iranian embassy in Greece added on its Twitter account.
An informed source, who spoke to Archyde.com on condition of anonymity, said that “the transfer process has started,” while a second source said that the process began on Friday and is expected to be completed within days.
Iran had previously warned of taking “punitive measures” against Athens due to the confiscation of the cargo, which led to strained relations between Athens and Tehran after Washington chartered a ship to confiscate the cargo on board the tanker Lana, which was anchored off Greece.
A US State Department spokesman said in July that Washington “respects the fact that this case has made its way through the Greek judicial process.”
Lana was expected to sail to the United States before the Greek Supreme Court ruled that the shipment should be returned to Iran.
Lana has been anchored off the Greek port of Piraeus since late July, waiting to load part of the impounded cargo on board the tanker (Abe Energy), chartered by Washington.
The seizure of oil on board the tanker Lana, formerly known as Pegas, prompted Iranian forces to seize two Greek tankers in the Gulf in May, which have not yet been released.
Claire Jungman of United Against Nuclear Iran, which monitors the movement of Iran-linked tankers through ship tracking and satellite imagery, said Greece, as a US ally, “has a chance to take a stand.”
“Instead, this decision by the Greek courts sends a message to Iran that there are no consequences for its hijacking of the (Greek) tankers,” Jungman told Archyde.com.