Gibraltar rejects US warrant to seize tanker

Gibraltar on Sunday rejected a US request to block the release of the Iranian oil tanker it seized last month, saying it could not comply because it was bound by European Union law. A federal court in Washington issued a warrant for the seizure of the tanker on Friday, one day after Gibraltar authorities said the vessel was free to leave.

It was detained for six weeks over suspicions it was transporting oil to Syria, in violation of EU sanctions. In the warrant, the US warrant said the tanker, its oil cargo and $995,000 were subject to forfeiture based on violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and bank fraud, money laundering and terrorism forfeiture statutes. But Gibraltar said on Sunday that European laws did not provide grounds for complying with the warrant.

“The Central Authority’s inability to seek the Orders requested is a result of the operation of European Union law and the differences in the sanctions regimes applicable to Iran in the EU and the US,” the Gibraltar government said in a statement. “The EU sanctions regime against Iran – which is applicable in Gibraltar – is much narrower than that applicable in the US.” Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran’s ambassador to the UK, said the ship was expected to set sail on Sunday night after two engineering teams were sent to Gibraltar.