Piracy at sea - the British seize an Iranian ship carrying oil to Syria

More to come on this

https://www.rt.com/news/463435-iran-reaction-tanker-uk/

Western Piracy: Britain Seizes Oil Tanker Bound For Syria At US Request

The Last American Vagabond

UK & EU do as U.S. orders, seizing oil tanker en route to Syria

The Duran

The Duran’s Alex Christoforou and Editor-in-Chief Alexander Mercouris discuss the aggressive seizure of a tanker carrying Iranian crude oil to Syria, by the British Royal Marines off the coast of Gibraltar. Police and customs agents say that the tanker was in breach of European Union sanctions.


According to Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/0...), the Grace 1 vessel was boarded early on Thursday when it slowed down in a designated area used by shipping agencies to ferry goods to ships in the UK territory along Spain's southern coast. Iran summoned the British ambassador in Tehran over the "illegal seizure" of the oil tanker in Gibraltar,


Iranian state TV quoted foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi as saying. John Bolton, White House national security adviser, applauded the interception of the supertanker.


"Excellent news: UK has detained the supertanker Grace I laden with Iranian oil bound for Syria in violation of EU sanctions," Bolton said on Twitter.

The economic terrorism of the UK, US & EU against Syria

Syriana Analysis


Yesterday Britain seized an Iranian #tanker, carrying oil on its way to the Mediterranean through #Gibraltar, that was bound for the Syrian people on the grounds that it violates EU sanctions, which are designed to cripple #Syria economically. This is pure piracy. This is economic terrorism.




British state propaganda channel, BBC

NIgeria - another oil-producing hot spot

Nigeria: Oil Cuts As Delta Erupts

All Africa,

16 March, 2012

As the government contends with a Boko Haram militia determined to make the north ungovernable, a new round of attacks has erupted in the oil-producing Niger Delta.

Apart from the financial damage of a new Delta crisis, it adds to the government's credibility problem. As a government led by Niger Deltans, it was expected to pacify and then start developing the region.

Addressing the ecological and socio-economic devastation in the Delta would realistically take decades; local communities expect their government to make palpable progress with investment and job programmes. There is little sign of that happening: instead, local political feuds and vendettas are being pursued with the help of militant groups. Some of the worst clashes are between rival factions of the governing People's Democratic Party (PDP).

The latest violence there, in President Goodluck Jonathan's political base, threatens the government's amnesty deal with militants and costs the economy as much as a million barrels of oil per day. Nigeria was producing some 2.7 mn. barrels per day in February, compared with its potential of 3.7 mn. bpd. Industry sources say there's no prospect of hitting 3.7 mn. bpd in the near future, mainly because of insecurity.

Over half of production is now offshore and better protected from attack. Now, the rise in piracy in the Gulf of Guinea is also changing security calculations at sea. Of current production, a further 140,000 bpd are lost to elaborate schemes of bunkering and oil theft run by militant groups and pirates, according to Royal Dutch Shell. For now, the biggest pressure is around the onshore oil fields operated by Shell and Chevron. Offshore piracy in the Gulf of Guinea is growing, posing risks to international shipping along one of the continent's busiest routes. Small, agile gangs in speedboats board vessels, raid them for oil and other cargo and move on (AC Vol 52 No 21, From Delta militias to piracy). Insurance premiums are rising. Piracy is an international problem under investigation by the United Nations (AC Vol 52 No 20, The Security Council lands a new African problem).

For article GO HERE