UK Royal Marines seize Iranian oil tanker in Mediterranean for sanctions violations

This happened a little while ago. Thank you Brits for maintaining the rule of law and enforcing the sanctions.
Al masdar news

Royal Marines boarded the ship, which has a 300,000 tonne carrying capacity, early Thursday morning.

Prime Minister Theresa May later praised the seizure, with a Number 10 spokesperson saying Gibraltar had sent a ‘clear message’ that the UK would not tolerate any violation of the sanctions.

Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said there was evidence to suggest the tanker was attempting to deliver crude oil to the Banyas Refinery in northwest Syria, in breach of EU sanctions against Syria. The EU slapped the war-torn country with hard-hitting economic and energy sanctions in 2011.

Spain said it is still assessing the tanker seizure incident since it took place in what Madrid says were its territorial waters.

Thanks guys! Also, there is word that Iranian proxies used a drone strike to destroy a patriot missile battery in Saudi Arabia.
A lot of hostile activity will occur this week due to the American audience being distracted in celebration of our independence. Stay vigilant.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

Most colonies were a chain around our knecks but Gibraltar has proved itself the key to Mediterranean trade and naval containment time and again. Proud to be British today

I don't get the praisal. Do sanctions work? the only ones who suffer seem to be the commoners.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

So Iran that supported Assad is not able to believe oil to a country that was turned from a central economical trading hub (Damascus) via a war by proxy into a smoking pile of rubble..

Iran that is sabre rattling with the USA misses out on the financial benefits of said oil once delivered.

Seems to be two for the price of one, keep Syria from taking delivery of what I guess is much needed oil, and Iran in deepening financial struggles.

Taking from the BBC news sight of all sources::

But when the super-tanker, all 330 metres of it, entered EU waters, specifically Gibraltar waters, the British authorities judged they had no choice but to enforce EU sanctions against Syria which the UK pushed for and strongly supports.

Brussels was not involved in the seizure decision. It is not a matter for EU institutions to enforce customs law.

That is a responsibility of member states. However, the Iranian charge that Britain was doing the Americans bidding may be hard to shake off.

originally posted by: Petra137
But when the super-tanker, all 330 metres of it, entered EU waters,

No such thing as "EU waters". At least not yet.

The Gibraltarian police, helped by UK Royal Marines did the deed.

Note the whining Spanish complaining that the seizure took place in what they want to be Spanish waters, but then they'll say that just to make a political point. Also note that the angry response by the Iranians is proof that it was their oil. Poor things.

Iran is not following the rules as usual.

At least we didn't sink them...

So where does that oil go? is it sold on the open market? If so, where do the proceeds go? This is about 2.1 million barrels (or about 1 days production for a large producer). This is about $120 million of crude. That could pay for a lot of patrolling the gulf or Mediterranean. Or it could pay for A LOT of humanitarian efforts.

An unprovoked act of aggression against Iran and Syria. This works only to the benefit of the Al-Qaeda terrorists in Syria.

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

It'll most likely go towards funding the west's secret space programme

a reply to: ufoorbhunter

Totally. The 'Rock' of Gibraltar defends the British Isles (and much more!) by bottling up potential hostiles in the Mediterranean.

The citizens there are brave to stay. Nice climate, but somewhat hostile neighbors (Spain).

Best wishes to the locals, and please keep doing what you do best, Britain!

originally posted by: Fowlerstoad


The citizens there are brave to stay. Nice climate, but somewhat hostile neighbors (Spain).

Best wishes to the locals, and please keep doing what you do best, Britain!

Cheers mate and total respect for undersatnding what Gibraltar means to Great Britain and our continued presence in the Mediterannean, both west with Gibraltar and east with Akrotiri

You Yanks should visit Gibraltar some time, it's a great place. The locals have nothing to fear from the Spaniards or north Africans, a detatchment of SAS is based there plus varied naval assets often nuke subs too. Even the Jews are safe there, when they were hunted down in Morocco and Spain the one pace they were given sanctuary was by by Britain in Gibraltar, somewhere they still exist in that locality Defended to this day by SAS