Unloaded Russian Tanker Leaves Oman

A Russian tanker unloaded its cargo and was released Friday, more than two weeks after the vessel was detained by the U.S. Navy for allegedly smuggling Iraqi oil in violation of U.N. sanctions, an Omani Foreign Ministry official said.

The Volga-Neft-147 and its crew, including 17 Russians and an Iraqi, left Omani waters Friday evening, said Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Syed Badr bin Hamad Busaidi.

On Thursday, the rusty 30-year-old tanker began unloading its oil through jetty operation, which involves transferring oil to another tanker for storage at Oman’s Al Fahal port. The unloading was finished Friday, Busaidi said.

He did not say where the tanker was heading.

The tanker was seized Feb. 2 in the Gulf of Oman off the United Arab Emirates on suspicion that it was carrying Iraqi oil. Military personnel on the U.S. Navy cruiser Monterey stopped and boarded the ship after it failed to respond to routine queries. The tanker was sent to Oman, where technical problems stalled the unloading of 4,000 tons of oil cargo aboard the ship.

Omani authorities had said they would allow the ship and its crew to leave once the alleged contraband cargo was unloaded.

Russia has backed off its initial denials that the vessel could have been carrying illicit Iraqi oil. But it said more tests were needed and commissioned a Swiss firm to conduct them. In Moscow, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday that he could not comment on those tests.

The United States said tests confirmed that the tanker was carrying Iraqi crude in violation of U.N. sanctions that bar Baghdad from selling oil unilaterally. The cargo is to be auctioned off, and some of the proceeds are to be used to pay for the U.N. sanctions monitoring operation.

Iraq is allowed to sell oil only under U.N. financial controls, with proceeds used for funding humanitarian programs and Persian Gulf War reparations. The sanctions cannot be lifted until the U.N. Security Council certifies that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction.

Russia supports steps that would lead to lifting the embargo.