Iranian tanker spilled oil in Israeli waters, leading journal confirms
The ship was insured by the UAE-based Islamic P&I club, which Lloyd’s List said “is solely used by Iranian shipowners that cannot find cover elsewhere.”
By LAHAV HARKOVIsraeli soldiers clean tar off the Palmachim beach following an offshore oil spill which drenched most of the Israeli coastline, February 22, 2021(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90)An Iranian tanker deliberately spilled oil into Israel’s economic waters, said Lloyd’s List, a leading international shipping journal, confirming much of Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel’s description of the events leading up to last month’s oil spill in the Mediterranean Sea.Gamliel called the oil spill “eco-terrorism,” accusing Iran of intentionally polluting the Mediterranean to harm Israel.Lloyd’s List Intelligence vessel-tracking data confirmed last week that a tanker called Emerald was responsible for the spill, while it was carrying 90,000 tons of crude oil from Iran to Syria.Emerald is owned by Emerald Marine Ltd. in the Marshall Islands. Its owner is “anonymous, untraceable,” the report said, and it is the company’s only ship.The ship was insured by the UAE-based Islamic P&I club, which Lloyd’s List said “is solely used by Iranian ship owners that cannot find cover elsewhere.”As the Environmental Protection Ministry had previously stated, Lloyd’s List said the tanker’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) was turned off when it sailed through the Gulf and the Red Sea, turned on while passing through the Suez Canal, and turned again as it neared Israel on February 1.The Israeli investigation found that the ship dumped some of the crude oil near Israel’s shores, before heading to Syria with its AIS on again. It unloaded the rest of its cargo onto another ship off the coast of Syria.The London-based Lloyd’s List publishes information and analysis about the shipping industry and has published shipping news since 1734, making it one of the world’s longest-running journals.
