U.S., Leader of New Age of Piracy

By: Hamid Reza Naghashian

TEHRAN (Iran News) – In the 1600s and 1700s, the world shipping transportation had been affected by a phenomenon dubbed “piracy” that the British were the pioneers in this criminal industry and through the time and with development of the countries and maturations of the nations, this business gradually faded away but it seems the business is resurging again and this time the U.S. is becoming the pioneer in this business but in different styles.

In the media and among the reports we had read or heard about Somalia pirates but it seems they are nothing comparing to their big bosses the Americans but the Americans commit piracy in a civilized way and under the label of confiscating the illegal transportation or deal.

On Thursday once again media outlets revealed another act of piracy by the U.S. but the country did it through its ally Greece. According to the report, the United States government confiscated an Iranian oil cargo held near Greece for nearly a month one day after Iranian authorities protested against Athens’ decision to hand over the cargo to American authorities.

The Thursday report by Reuters cited statements by unnamed source showing that the U.S. Department of Justice had confiscated 700,000 barrels of Iranian oil cargo seized last month off the southern Greek island of Evia onboard a Russian-operated ship.

A Greek source said that the oil cargo had been transferred to another ship hired by Washington and will be send to the U.S.

The source said the U.S. Department of Justice had “informed Greece that the cargo on the vessel is Iranian oil”.

Another source confirmed the American seizure and said that the Iranian oil cargo is currently being transferred to the Liberia-flagged tanker Ice Energy, which is operated by Greek shipping company Dynacom.

The confiscation comes a day after Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned charge d’affaires of Greece’s embassy in Tehran to declare its strong objections to the seizure of an Iranian-flagged ship in Greek waters.

The ship, previously Russian-flagged, had been sailing in international waters before it was forced to anchor near Greece over technical problems.

Iranian authorities have said they will hold the Greek government responsible for the confiscation.

 

It is the second time the U.S. confiscates Iranian oil outside its territorial waters on trumped-up charges brought by American courts. In 2020, four cargoes of Iranian oil bound for Venezuela were seized by the US with the help of foreign agents. The cargoes were then sold for more than $40 million, according to reports.

The seizure also comes a day after the U.S. government announced sanctions targeting a Russian-backed oil network supporting Iran’s anti-sanctions activities.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on what it described as a Russian-backed oil smuggling and money laundering network for the IRGC’s Quds Force. The sanctions seem to be a justification for this confiscation.

The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation for the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, the Indian Ocean, North America, and West Africa but it seems the new era of piracy has started by the U.S. unilateralism and it can threaten the fate of shipping and sea transportation in the world.

Reacting to blocking Iranian vessel from sailing by Greece, Iran’s Ports and Shipping Organization (PMO) in a statement said that the action is considered ‘an act of piracy’, calling for abidance by international regulations.

Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) as the duly authorized maritime administration of the Islamic Republic of Iran reacted against actions of the Greek government as to hindering Iranian vessel from sailing and arresting its cargo and urged the Greek government to fulfill its international obligations.

According to international regulations approved by IMO regarding safety of lives at sea, all countries are required to provide assistance to vessels in distress near their coastlines, until the danger is resolved, and safety of the vessel and people on board can be guaranteed, while any necessary repairs and facilities should be provided to achieve or facilitate the above.

Moreover, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) has also stipulated limitations for bunker operations or any other activities that pose the risk of pollution to the marine environment. The Greek government, nevertheless, has been acting in full violation and negligence of these provisions as well.

But it seems international bodies try to remain passive when it comes to react to the U.S. or West’s violation of international laws and as it was mentioned before, it is not the first time that Iran’s cargo is confiscated by the pirate U.S. or its allies. But when Iran wants to take retaliatory action or stops vessels over the violation of international waters on its waters, all international bodies stand against Tehran and condemn it while they really know that the U.S. is the main culprit.

So continuation of such unilateral piracy and passiveness of the international powers will lead to a pick-up in piracy and this business will be revived and another age of piracy will start in the world under the label of “confiscating illegal or sanctioned cargos” and no country in the world will feel safe in its shipping industry because any time the U.S. wishes their ships can be stopped and their cargos could be confiscated and it is not a good phenomenon in the 21tht Century that the world is moving to the so-called modern civilization.