US blacklists Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1; sanctions Indian captain

The US Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on Akhilesh Kumar, the captain of Adrian Darya 1 (formerly Grace 1), the world’s most tracked oil tanker, at the centre of a confrontation between the United States and Iran and also black-listed the oil super tanker.

“The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action today against Adrian Darya 1, an oil tanker transporting 2.1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil ultimately benefitting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF). The Adrian Darya 1 is being identified as blocked property pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorism or acts of terrorism. As part of today’s action, the Adrian Darya 1’s captain, Akhilesh Kumar, is also designated pursuant to E.O. 13224,” it said in a statement.