Iranian oil tanker anchors off Indonesian island

PanARMENIAN.Net - An Iranian supertanker loaded with crude has made a rare journey to an anchorage point off the coast of an Indonesian island used for offshore sales and storage of oil, Reuters reported.

The Delvar, part of the National Iranian Tanker Co.'s (NITC) fleet, arrived at Karimun Island in the Singapore Strait on Thursday, February 23 according to Reuters Freight Fundamentals Database. The vessel remains anchored with its draft indicating an almost full load, the data showed. A super tanker, or Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), can carry up to two million barrels of oil.

Tehran has been struggling to sell its crude in the face of tightening U.S. sanctions and an EU embargo that kicks in on July 1. Major Asian buyers are planning to cut back imports in order to win a waiver from U.S. sanctions, sapping a key revenue lifeline for Iran.

Karimun is a key offshore storage point near Asia's biggest oil trading hub Singapore and is often used for ship-to-ship transfers (STS), but NITC vessels have not been known to call there.

Western financial sanctions have crimped Iran's purchases of grain, cooking oil and tea. Tehran is turning to barter - offering gold bullion in overseas vaults or tankerloads of oil - as new financial sanctions have hurt its ability to import basic staples for its 74 million people.

Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said there was currently no agreement on barter trade with Iran.

Separately, Indonesian state oil firm Pertamina said the Iranian tanker was not for them, according to the spokesman.

Refiners in the region who are known to buy Iranian crude include Malaysian state-owned Petronas and Royal Dutch Shell's 500,000 barrels-per-day refinery in Singapore, traders said.