On 21st July, Iran denied the ownership of oil tanker Arman 114 (IMO 9116412), which was seized by Indonesia on July 11th.
To remind, Indonesia’s coast guard seized an Iranian-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC), stating that it was suspected of involvement in the illegal transshipment of crude oil (IMN, July 12th).
As explained, the Arman 114 was carrying 272,569 tonnes of light crude oil and was suspected of transferring the oil to another vessel without a permit.
The reports that try to link the cargo of that ship to the Islamic Republic of Iran are not valid and are part of a propaganda campaign against Iran.
The Arman 114 is registered in Iran and operated by the Iranian state oil company. Indonesia reported that they had seen the vessel anchored and conducting a transfer to another tanker.
The other tanker involved in the incident was also spoofing its AIS, and was displaying the name of a tanker that had been scrapped more than five years ago.
As informed, this incident comes after another Iranian oil tanker was seized in mid-July, and its crew arrested by Indonesian authorities for unauthorized oil transfer to another vessel in Indonesian waters.
Source » safety4sea