- Vanuatu-Flagged Cargo Vessel Experience Engine Trouble in Turkish Waters
The Vanuatu-flagged General cargo vessel Ironhide faced engine trouble in Turkish waters en route from Bulgaria to Israel on 5th August. The vessel was rescued by the Turkish Directorate General of Coastal Safety (KEGM).
The incident occurred around 10:30 pm local time while the vessel experienced engine failure, traversing off the Karanfil Cape, located in the Dardanelles in Turkey.
A rescue operation was launched by the KEGM in coordination with the Çanakkale Ship Traffic Services Centre. On 6th August at around 2:40 am local time the 78-metre-long vessel was safely moored at the Karanlık Liman anchorage.
The Dardanelles is a narrow and busy waterway connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara in northwestern Turkey. A vessel losing power in such a busy waterway may drift and can be dangerous for the ship and for other passing vessels.
- Oil Tanker Seized in Port of Basra Over Suspicions of Smuggling Crude
An unnamed Liberian-flagged oil tanker was seized by the Iraqi navy at the Port of Basra after the crew failed to produce sufficient documentation to explain the oil cargo aboard. The vessel is seized in a recent crackdown on oil smuggling launched by Iraq.
The tanker was seized at a side-loading platform at the port’s oil terminal. On 6th July, the vessel was intercepted in the Arabian Gulf in Iraqi waters after failing to produce documentation for the 250,000 tonnes of oil aboard. The seizure is reported to have involved eight naval and patrol boats.
Iraqi authorities have given the vessel a short deadline to produce documentation for the oil cargo, failing which the authorities claim the case will be forwarded to the judiciary.
The seizure of the vessel is described to be a part of a broader anti-smuggling campaign that has been launched by the Iraqi government. Iraqi officials have stated that the Iraqi government is facing pressure to stop Iranian oil being smuggled using Iraqi ports and to stop Iranian oil being blended with Iraqi crude to evade sanctions.
The crackdown has been prompted by heavy US scrutiny of Iraq’s oil sector, with the aim of shielding the Iraqi oil sector from facing secondary sanctions by the US.
