MOSCOW/BEIRUT: Russia shipped a diesel cargo to the Syrian Arab Republic onboard a tanker under US sanctions, the first known such direct supply to the Middle Eastern country in more than a decade, LSEG data showed.
The final destination of the cargo is unclear. Russia has two main military installations in Syria: an air base in Hmeimim and a naval base in Tartous, integral to Russia’s military reach in the Middle East and Africa.
Russia’s control over the bases is under threat following the sudden fall of Bashar Assad last year. Moscow has said it wanted to keep its hold over them.
According to LSEG data, the Barbados-flagged vessel Prosperity (previously known as Gabon-flagged NS Pride) was loaded with about 37,000 metric tons of ultra-low sulfur diesel at the Russian Baltic port of Primorsk on Feb. 8.
The tanker is anchored near the Syrian port of Banias, LSEG shipping data shows. Fornax itself is also under the US sanctions. The company was not immediately available for comment.
US sanctions on Russia since the start of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine have included measures aimed at limiting revenues from the country’s huge oil and gas industry and weakening its ability to fund the military efforts.
The United States on January 10 added the Prosperity to the list of sanctioned vessels, which includes some 180 tankers, involved in the export of Russian oil products following its war in Ukraine. The EU and the UK followed suit on February 24.
Violations of the US sanctions programs may result in civil and, in some cases, criminal penalties.
In one such case, US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
announced
last year a settlement of $7.45 million with the State Street Bank for “apparent violations” of the Russia and Ukraine-related sanctions.
At the same time, the US issued a six-month waiver to its Syria sanctions, focused on the energy sector and financial transfers to Syrian governing authorities.
Syrian oil ministry officials did not immediately respond to text messages seeking comment. Russia’s energy ministry declined to comment.
This is the first direct diesel shipment from Russia to Syria since at least 2013, according to LSEG data.
Syria also issued an import tender for 20,000 tons of LPG and was seeking to import oil as no crude shipments have arrived from Iran, its key supplier, since November, according to data from shipping analytics firm Kpler.
Syria has two oil refineries, located in Homs and Banias, which ceased operating after Assad’s fall.
Russia ships diesel to Syria on tanker under US sanctions, data shows
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Russia ships diesel to Syria on tanker under US sanctions, data shows
- According to LSEG data, the Barbados-flagged vessel Prosperity was loaded with about 37,000 metric tons of ultra-low sulfur diesel
- The tanker is anchored near the Syrian port of Banias, LSEG shipping data shows
Iran temporarily closes airspace to most flights
WASHINGTON: Iran temporarily closed its airspace to all flights except international ones to and from Iran with official permission at 5:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, according to a notice posted on the Federal Aviation Administration’s website. The prohibition is set to last for more than two hours until 7:30 p.m. ET, or 0030 GMT, but could be extended, the notice said. The United States was withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a US official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbors it would hit American bases if Washington strikes. Missile and drone barrages in a growing number of conflict zones represent a high risk to airline traffic. India’s largest airline, IndiGo said some of its international flights would be impacted by Iran’s sudden airspace closure. A flight by Russia’s Aeroflot bound for Tehran returned to Moscow after the closure, according to tracking data from Flightradar24. Earlier on Wednesday, Germany issued a new directive cautioning the country’s airlines from entering Iranian airspace, shortly after Lufthansa rejigged its flight operations across the Middle East amid escalating tensions in the region.
The United States already prohibits all US commercial flights from overflying Iran and there are no direct flights between the countries. Airline operators like flydubai and Turkish Airlines have canceled multiple flights to Iran in the past week. “Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information. “The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.” Lufthansa said on Wednesday that it would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice while it would only operate day flights to Tel Aviv and Amman from Wednesday until Monday next week so that crew would not have to stay overnight. Some flights could also be canceled as a result of these actions, it added in a statement. Italian carrier ITA Airways, in which Lufthansa Group is now a major shareholder, said that it would similarly suspend night flights to Tel Aviv until Tuesday next week.
