Turkey’s Tupras says it recovered cargo from Iran-seized ship

Turkish oil refiner Tupras said it has transfered the cargo from a crude tanker that was seized by Iran earlier this year. 

The St Nikolas vessel was taken in January and has been anchored near the country’s coastline since. The cargo was removed as part of a ship-to-ship transfer with another vessel, the statement said, suggesting the vessel itself remains held. 

Before it was called St Nikolas, the tanker was known as the Suez Rajan, a vessel that was impounded by the US for hauling sanctioned Iranian barrels. When it seized the vessel Iran said it was “in retaliation for the theft of oil by the US”.

The transfer completed on Thursday and the cargo will arrive at the refinery in September, the statement said.