Group: Oil tanker tied to US-traded firm receiving Iran oil

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An oil tanker owned by a major U.S.-traded transportation company appears to be taking on Iranian crude oil in a key Asian maritime strait in violation of American sanctions, an advocacy group alleges. The firm allegedly involved, Euronav, said Wednesday it will “take appropriate action when necessary."

Satellite photos and maritime tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press put the Belgian-flagged crude oil tanker Oceania just next to the Vietnamese-flagged tanker Abyss for a possible ship-to-ship transfer. The group United Against Nuclear Iran has warned the Oceania's owner, the Antwerp-based Euronav, that it believes the Abyss took on Iranian crude oil in late February.

The suspicion comes as Iran remains able to trade its crude oil at sea despite American sanctions snapping back into place after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. Now nearly five years later, Iran enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels while continuing to sell its oil and supplying bomb-carrying drones to Russia to fuel Moscow's war on Ukraine.

Brian Gallagher, a spokesman for Euronav, told the AP in a statement that the company “has and always has taken all the appropriate measures and protocols to ensure we are in compliance with all regulations.”

“All cargoes within our system have passed these requirements,” Gallagher wrote. “Euronav will continue to monitor any specific shipments and take appropriate action where necessary.”

Gallagher said the Oceania was a storage vessel and the cargo from the Abyss was for “a third party NOT directly with Euronav.” He added if the allegation the oil is Iranian is proven, “the cargo will be returned to the third party who...