Moldovan official confirms Iranian ships rumor

Deputy Minister of Transports Boris Gherasim told Radio Europa Libera that 12 Iranian ships had been registered in Moldova in May-July this year, but said that the registration under Moldovan flag wasn’t available anymore, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Deputy Minister declared that the Moldovan authorities annulled the registration of the 12 solid cargo ships after learning that the ships were affected by Western sanctions against Iran. The official didn’t reveal who requested the cancelation of the Iranian ships’ registration. A Maltese daily published an article on Sunday, August 12, in which the author claimed that Moldova allowed the registration of ships transporting Iranian oil, thus violating the embargo imposed by the EU. According to the Maltese newspaper, at least 8 Iranian ships were registered under the Moldovan flag and used Giurigiulesti port on the Danube as their registration port. The EU embargo on Iranian oil came to effect on July 1. According to the agreement, the import of crude oil from Iran is forbidden on the territory of EU countries.