Nasha

Another tanker has left Iran’s floating storage fleet, the fourth to detach from one of two flotillas based in the Persian Gulf since Iran’s landmark nuclear deal July 14. The National Iranian Tanker Company-owned Nancy had been observed anchored off Kharg Island for 135 days until August 19, when its AIS-transponder was shut off, making the ship “invisible” to vessel-tracking software. The 2.1 million-barrel vessel then reappeared briefly Sunday in the UAE’s Fujairah waiting zone — where ships often bunker prior to long journeys or conduct ship-to-ship transfers — before going invisible Monday, bound for an unknown destination.

DUBAI, June 24, (RTRS): Iran has given new English names and changed the flags of many of its oil tankers, two of which are steaming towards Europe with an European Union ban on Iranian oil imports just a week away, ship tracking data shows. The Haraz is now Freedom, Nesa has transformed into Truth, and Sima has become Blossom. At least a third of oil tanker operator National Iranian Tanker Company’s (NITC) ships have registered with the pacific atolls of Tuvalu and also Tanzania after dropping their Maltese and Cypriot flags. NITC is not subject to UN sanctions, but with Malta and Cyprus coming under increased EU pressure to stop flagging Iranian government-linked ships, NITC has hoisted flags from Tuvalu on at least 11 of its 39 oil tankers, while Tanzanian flags fly above at least two. http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/184854/reftab/36/t/Iranian-oil-tankers-change-names-flags-as-ban-looms/Default.aspx