![British Royal Marines seized the supertanker Grace 1 for trying to take oil to Syria . The tanker is now in the Mediterranean near the Tartus port in Syria which is home to Russian naval base[Marcos Moreno/AP]](https://yalibnan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/iran-supertanker-grace-e1562493868151.jpg)
Maxar’s supplied image shows the tanker Adrian Darya 1 very close to Tartus on September 6.
The ship appeared to have turned off its transponder in the Mediterranean west of Syria, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed on Tuesday.
The tanker, which is loaded with Iranian crude oil, sent its last signal giving its position between Cyprus and Syria sailing north at 15:53 GMT on Monday, the data showed.
The vessel, formerly named Grace 1, was detained by British Royal Marine commandos off Gibraltar on July 4 as it was suspected to be en route to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions.
Two weeks later, Iran in retaliation seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz leading into the Gulf.
Gibraltar released the Iranian vessel on Aug. 15 after receiving formal written assurances from Tehran that the ship would not discharge its 2.1 million barrels of oil in Syria.
However, shipping sources say the tanker is likely to try to conduct a ship-to-ship transfer with another vessel for part of its cargo after Iran said a sale had been concluded.
Washington has warned any state against assisting the ship, saying it would consider that support for a terrorist organisation, namely, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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