EMEA News
US Alleges VLCC in South America is Carrying Sanctioned Iranian Crude
The US has alleged that a VLCC off the coast of South America is carrying a sanctioned Iranian crude cargo.
The US Department of Justice has filed a forfeiture complaint against the Liberian-flagged VLCC Achilleas, the department said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.
"The complaint alleges a scheme involving multiple entities affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the IRGC-Qods Force to covertly ship Iranian oil to a customer abroad," the department said.
"Participants in the scheme attempted to disguise the origin of the oil using ship-to-ship transfers, falsified documents, and other means, and provided a fraudulent bill of lading to deceive the owners of the Achilleas into loading the oil in question."
The Achilleas is currently on its way past French Guiana, heading for the US Gulf, having last been off the coast of the UAE, according to data from shipping intelligence service VesselsValue.
The US alleges that Iranian oil exports are used to fund terrorism. Sanctions imposed against Iran have reduced its exports, but a smaller flow has continued to be exported covertly.
