Oil tanker seized by Iran moving to international waters, tracking data shows

Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Advantage Sweet, which, according to Refinitiv ship tracking data, is a Suezmax crude tanker which had been chartered by oil major Chevron and had last docked in Kuwait, sails through Bophorus Istanbul, Turkey, February 11, 2023. /Yoruk Isik/File Photo

A Chevron-chartered oil tanker that was seized by Iran more than a year ago was heading for international waters on Thursday, LSEG ship tracking data showed.

The Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet was boarded by Iran's military in the Gulf of Oman in April 2023 after an alleged collision with an Iranian boat.

The U.S. State Department welcomed reports that the vessel has been released and again condemned the Iranian regime's unlawful seizure of the vessel from international waters, an agency spokesperson said. The State Department in March had called for the immediate release of the tanker.

There was no immediate comment from Chevron or Iranian officials on Thursday.

The movement of the Advantage Sweet appeared to coincide with the reported conclusion of a court case that Iranian state-linked media have linked to the tanker.

In March this year, an Iranian court found in favour of patients who had sued the U.S. government over sanctions which they said stopped Iran importing medicine for a rare skin disease, causing deaths and suffering.

After the ruling, Iranian authorities said they would unload about $50 million worth of crude from the Advantage Sweet, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The report did not specify whether Iran's seizure of the tanker's oil would contribute to any compensation for the patients.

On Thursday, an Iranian court reached a final ruling in the case, ordering the U.S. government and officials to pay $6.8 billion over the sanctions, the Iranian judiciary's Mizan news agency reported.

-(Reuters)