Seized tanker

chewbacca you obviously think that those wanting to escape poverty stricken and war torn countries want to come here because of the warm welcome from the inhabitants and the luxury lifestyles they will obtain. However, I would suggest they want to come here and many other countries which aren’t war torn and poverty stricken for obvious reasons, the U.K. has some attractions for some as they may have relatives here, can speak English and know they can work under the radar more easily than some other countries that require strict ID cards and registration. It’s not because the U.K. has streets paved with gold or it is somehow the inhabitants are superior to anywhere else in the world.

olderthsnmost has an unsavoury reputation which has been called out before. I suggest we deny her/him the satisfaction of rising to the bait by ignoring all further posts.

Tanker 1

Iranian owned ' Grace 1' with a cargo of oil was impounded at Gibraltar as it was sailing past Gibraltar , knowingly, against EU sanctions.

European Union sanctions are in place against the regime of Bashir al Assad. The impounding of the ' Grace 1' was enacted due to the suspicion the oil on Grace 1 was heading to Assad in Syria, violating EU sanctions against Syria.

Tanker 2

The Swedish owned / British flagged tanker ' Stena Impero' was sailing legally in International waters and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard ' illegally' forced it's impoundment by surrounding the tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

If the Iranian tanker ' Grace 1' was released to return to Iran or deliver it's oil to a country not on a ' sanctioned' list then the Swedish owned/British flagged tanker ' Stena Impero' could be released to carry on it's ' legal' business.

It just has to be hoped the ' tit for tat' situation is resolved through diplomacy.

Looking at the map of the Gulf the Strait of Hormuz is like a trap . With Iran very dominant to the north.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Hormuz#/media/File:Strait_of_hormuz_full.jpg
There will be very heavy shipping traffic, especially oil.

merlotgran
Congratulations!

I don't think it will come to anything so long as Jeremy Hunt keeps his diplomatic hat on and he has no interruptions from any hot-heads.

Merlotgran,

Everyone hates us and we have a sense of entertainment.

I thought that was just the Eurovision Song Contest.

You sound delightful olderthanmost .

I echo a previous poster who wondered why, if we are such an unpleasant nation as olderthanmost says, why are so many people desperately trying to come here? Perhaps, with your superior knowledge and wisdom, you could enlighten us?

This government has stripped so much from our Navy that they no longer have the ability to defend our shipping.

Party above country every time

I could be mistaken but I don't think the other Stena tanker was captured. Montrose arrived in time to prevent that happening.

I can't understand why the other Stena tanker was released.

The GPS system or whatever was/is used was re-directed by the Iranians.

Olderthanmost, please do tell , I notice you have written ‘your’ superior attitude rather than ‘our’ superior attitude.
So I am left wondering why you are participating on a forum that ‘You ‘ as you infer are not part of.?

Passage through the Gulf of Hormuz is governed by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Iran is a signatory to that Convention, but has regularly ignored its responsibilities under that treaty when in it chose to

To reduce the risk of collision in the Strait, ships moving through it follow an agreed route, which is divided into lanes, each 2 miles wide, with a 2 mile separation lane between them. Inbound ships use one lane, outbound ships the other.

The Stena Imperio, was in the correct channel following the approved route. However, I do think a tit-for-tat seizing of a British ship could have been expected and, even if it meant travelling in convoy, I do think, at present all British tankers should be travelling with a Royal Navy escort within sight when going through the Straits. It is clear in this case that the Royal Navy ship was too far away to offer the immediate protection it was able to offer another tanker earlier this week

I agree Callistemon, it is a ‘tit for tat’ situation because of the Iranian tanker being seized by us, legitimately because it apparently was supplying Syria in contravention of EU sanctions. Very worrying though.

Well that’s good to know Ellan, I’m glad we’ve got the support of France and Germany, you must have read/seen more than I have, but I’ve really only watched a bit of news today. It’s a worrying situation though, we could do without it just now for sure.

Ooh petra, don’t forget that not all Brits are English! A lot of the world don’t seem to realise that!!

Bradfordlass, really????

blossom14 I offer this as an answer.

The British Sense of Entertainment.

Of course, if you go back far enough it is also burning people at the stake, ducking poor old women in ponds and beheading monarchs.

I would not have put it so cuttingly as Olderthanmost but in essence I have to agree that colonial powers (not just British) have done a great deal of harm which is still reverberating (and hurting people) today.

wonder!

I do wondered why it went off course.

It has been reported that France and Germany have called on the Iranian authorities to release this vessel and have warned about increased tension in this region. The EU as a whole, too, has said:
Also calling for the release of the ship, the European Union's foreign affairs office, which represents 28 member states, expressed "deep concern" and urged for "restraint to avoid further tensions".

This is 'tit for tat' as the UK was upholding EU sanctions when it seized the Iranian tanker off Gibraltar which was believed to be supplying oil to Syria.

Olderthanmost……

Your right the British do have a sense of entitlement to entertainment.

We're well known for our sense of humour too

I can’t understand why tankers weren’t in a convoy to travel through the Straits Of Hormuz.It was obviously going to happen as an act of retaliation by the Iranians.

Which totally wonderful country are you from then olderthanmost ?
It’s true we do have a great sense of entertainment though.