LONDON: Gibraltardecided yesterday to free the Iranian oil tanker Grace 1, detained off theBritish overseas territory six weeks ago by Royal Marines, paving the way for apossible swap for a British-flagged tanker seized by Iran in the Gulf. The twotankers have become pawns in the standoff between Iran and the West, their fatetangled up in the diplomatic differences between the EU's big powers and theUnited States.
The Grace 1 was seized by commandos in darkness off peninsula on July 4. Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo decided to lift the detention order after formal written assurances from Tehran that the ship will not discharge its 2.1 million barrels of oil in Syria, but added that the ship had not yet been released. "In light of the assurances we have received, there are no longer any reasonable grounds for the continued legal detention of the Grace 1 in order to ensure compliance with the EU Sanctions Regulation," Picardo said.
It was notimmediately clear when the Grace 1 would sail as the United States made a laterequest to seize the vessel. "That is a matter for our independent MutualLegal Assistance authorities, who will make an objective, legal determinationof that request for separate proceedings," Picardo said. The seizure ofthe Grace 1 triggered a row with Tehran, which accused Britain of piracy. Twoweeks later, on July 19, Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized the British-flaggedStena Impero in the Gulf.
While both Britainand Iran deny planning to swap the vessels, there has been a widespreadexpectation that the British-flagged ship will not be freed until the Iraniantanker is released. Iran's ambassador to London, Hamid Baeidinejad, said theUnited States was "desperately" trying to block the release but faceda "miserable defeat". He tweeted that the tanker would be leavingGibraltar soon. - Reuters
