[Fair Use: For Education and Research Purpose Only]

LINK TO STORY Technical Problems Delay Offloading Of Oil From Russian Tanker

8:00 a.m. ET (1300 GMT) February 8, 2000 By Adnan Malik MUSCAT, Oman  Technical difficulties Tuesday delayed the unloading of a Russian tanker detained by the U.S. Navy for allegedly smuggling Iraqi oil in violation of U.N. sanctions.

The vessel was seized last Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman off the United Arab Emirates on suspicion it was carrying Iraqi oil. The cruiser USS Monterey stopped and boarded the ship after it failed to respond to routine queries.

Alexandor Nazarov, a diplomat at the Russian embassy in Muscat, Oman, where the tanker is being held, said it was too early to tell whether the ship's oil would be unloaded Tuesday.

"Technical hitches are delaying the offloading," Nazarov said.

U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen said Sunday that tests confirmed the tanker was carrying Iraqi crude in violation of U.N. sanctions that bar Baghdad from selling oil unilaterally. Iraq is only allowed to sell oil under U.N. financial controls, with proceeds used for funding humanitarian programs and Persian Gulf War reparations.

The tanker, Volga-Neft-147, will be drained at Muscat's Fahl port as soon as ongoing technical procedures are completed, Nazarov told The Associated Press.

He said the ship and its crew would be released as soon as the job was completed.

The vessel, which is carrying 4,000 tons of oil, was handed over to Oman on Monday by the U.S. Navy. It remained anchored two miles from Fahl port, which is used mainly by oil tankers for exporting Omani oil.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the cargo would be put in storage in Oman.

Russia has denied that the Volga-Neft-147 was carrying Iraqi crude, saying it was actually carrying fuel oil from Iran to ports in the United Arab Emirates. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow will carry out its own investigation, and its U.N. ambassador called for independent tests to determine the oil's source.

The U.S. Navy said a gas analysis confirmed the oil's origin as Iraqi. It also said the ship's first officer is an Iraqi national and that documents found in his state room backed up the analysis data.

"Additionally, the ship's navigation computer and handwritten navigational chart markings established a clear transit from Iraq through Iranian territorial waters to the United Arab Emirates," the Navy said.

Under rules of the U.N. embargo, the ship and its cargo may be sold by the host nation. But Russian U.N. Ambassador Sergey Lavrov said Monday that the United States, Oman and Russia have agreed that the tanker and its crew will be released.

The U.N. sanctions cannot be lifted until the U.N. Security Council certifies that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction. Russia has long supported steps that would lead to lifting the embargo.

) Associated Press. All rights reserved.

===============================================

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), February 08, 2000