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BRAZIL-IRAN-US-SHIPPING-SANCTION
Iran ships stranded in Brazil are set to depart: officials
RIO DE JANEIRO, July 28, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Two Iranian ships stranded off
the coast of Brazil for weeks were setting sail Saturday, officials said,
after a court ordered state oil giant Petrobras to fuel up the vessels.
The bulk carriers had been stuck at Paranagua port in the southern state of
Parana since early last month after Petrobras refused to provide fuel for
fear of breaching US sanctions on Iran.
The ships dragged Brazil into a global standoff which has seen rising
tensions and fears of a military clash involving Tehran and Washington, which
imposed a raft of punitive measures on Iran and companies with ties to the
Islamic republic.
US President Donald Trump has placed crippling sanctions on Iran since he
pulled the United States last year out from a landmark multinational pact.
The deal had lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for a freeze on its
nuclear program.
The port administrator said that the ship Termeh left around noon, headed
to another Brazilian port where it would be loaded with corn. The Bavand,
which already has its cargo, will leave for Iran Saturday night. The journey
home takes approximately 30 days, the administrator added.
A spokesperson for Eleva Quimica, the Brazilian company which contracted
the vessels, said refueling started in the early hours of Saturday, with the
Termeh receiving 600 tons and Bavand 1,300 tons of fuel.
Petrobras, whose stock is listed in the US and in Sao Paulo, confirmed it
was refueling the ships.
The Supreme Court order came after Iran’s top envoy to Brazil told
Bloomberg that Tehran could suspend imports from Brazil if the issue was not
resolved.
The ships had reportedly brought urea, which is used to make fertilizer, to
Brazil and were to transport corn back to Iran.
Petrobras had said the Iranian vessels and the Iranian company that owns
those ships — reportedly Sapid Shipping — were sanctioned by the United
States.
“If Petrobras were to supply these vessels, it would be subject to the risk
of being included in the same list, which could cause serious damages to the
company,” it said in an earlier statement.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0915 hrs