According to AIS tracking data she was bound for Kalamata in Greece.
The Gibraltar Government had earlier rejected a US request to again seize the ship, which was received on Friday, the day after Gibraltar lifted its detention order against the former ‘Grace 1’.
Gibraltar claimed it could not comply with Washington's request to issue a new detention order, as US sanctions against Iran do not apply in the EU.
‘Grace 1’ had originally been registered in Panama, however, its maritime authority said last month that she had been de-listed after an alert that indicated the ship had participated in or was linked to terrorism financing.
On Friday, a seizure warrant and forfeiture complaint were issued in the US District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that the ‘Grace 1,’ all petroleum on board the VLCC and $995,000 are subject to forfeiture based on violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), bank fraud statute, and money laundering statute, as well as separately the terrorism forfeiture statute.
The documents alleged a scheme to unlawfully access the US financial system to support illicit shipments to Syria from Iran by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated foreign terrorist organisation. The scheme involves multiple parties affiliated with the IRGC and furthered by the deceptive voyages of the ‘Grace 1’.
A network of front companies allegedly laundered millions of dollars in support of such shipments, the US Department of Justice said.
On Thursday, the US State Department had also said that it will use an anti-terrorism law to deny visas to seafarers who work on board vessels carrying Iranian oil.
"The United States assesses that the ‘Grace I’ was assisting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by transporting oil from Iran to Syria. This could result in serious consequences for any individuals associated with the ‘Grace 1 ‘," said US State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus in a statement. "The IRGC has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) by the United States. Crew members of vessels assisting the IRGC by transporting oil from Iran may be ineligible for visas or admission to the United States under the terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds . . . of the Immigration and Nationality Act."
In a brief social media statement, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. "A message to all mariners – if you crew an IRGC or other [Foreign Terrorist Organisation]-affiliated ship, you jeopardise future entry to the US," he wrote.
Also last week, the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office issued a statement saying; “The UK notes the conclusion of Gibraltar’s legal proceedings and the steps Gibraltar’s authorities have taken to prevent the ship’s cargo from reaching Syria in contravention of EU Syria Sanctions.
“We note the Government of Gibraltar has received assurances from Iran that the ‘Grace 1’ will not proceed to Syria. Iran must abide by the assurances they have provided. We will not stand by and allow Iran – or anyone – to bypass vital EU sanctions on a regime that has deployed chemical weapons against its own people.
“There is no comparison or linkage between Iran’s unacceptable and illegal seizure of, and attacks on, commercial shipping vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the enforcement of EU Syria sanctions by the Government of Gibraltar. Freedom of navigation for commercial shipping must be respected and international law upheld,” the statement said.