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Nitc News

26 Sep 2022

Tankers to Discharge Iranian Crude, Condensate at Venezuela's Main Port

Tankers carrying about 1.22 million barrels of Iranian crude and 2 million barrels of condensate are scheduled to discharge at Venezuela's Jose terminal in the coming days, according to a document from state oil company PDVSA.Venezuela relies in Iran for a large portion of the diluents that PDVSA uses to convert its heavy oil to exportable grades. Iranian crude also is being refined in the South American country to produce motor fuels.One of the tankers that arrived this month in Venezuelan waters is the Iran-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC) Huge, operated by National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), according to the document. Non-profit organization United Against Nuclear Iran and monitoring service TankerTrackers.com confirmed its identity.For the second cargo…

18 May 2022

China Moves Another 2 Million Barrels of Iranian Oil into Reserve Tanks

© Jess Yu / Adobe Stock

China is set to receive close to two million barrels of Iranian oil this week and pump into a reserve base in south China, according to tanker tracker specialist Vortexa Analytics.Diona, a very large crude carrier owned by National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), is expected to discharge the oil into an oil terminal in Zhanjiang of Guangdong province, said Emma Li, Vortexa's China analyst.This would be the third Iranian oil cargo destined for government stockpile following two similar-sized shipments in December and January.This shipment is likely to be reported by Chinese customs which is due

16 Feb 2022

Iranian Condensate Cargo arrives in Venezuela

A 2.1 million barrel cargo of Iranian condensate arrived in Venezuela's waters this week, vessel tracking data and a company document showed, ferrying supplies to state-run oil firm PDVSA to dilute its extra heavy oil for export.U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela and Iran last year agreed to a contract for exchanging Iranian condensate, a very light form of oil, for Venezuelan heavy crude. The trade has proven key to sustaining PDVSA's production and expanding its exports.The Iranian-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC) Dan, operated by state-owned National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), entered Venezuelan Jose port's anchorage on Tuesday…

31 Jan 2022

Iranian Oil Tanker to Discharge 2 Million Barrels in Venezuela

An Iranian supertanker carrying about 2 million barrels of condensate this week began discharging at Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA's main oil port, according to a company document and tanker tracking services.PDVSA and state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in the second half of last year started a swap deal to exchange Iranian condensate for PDVSA's heavy crude. The pact has proven to be key for sustaining Venezuela's oil output, which needs diluents including condensate for transportation and exports.Last year, the two state companies that are under U.S. sanctions exchanged some 4.82 million barrels of condensate for 5.55 million barrels of heavy crude, mostly transported in Iran-flagged vessels.

23 Feb 2021

Perfect Trips: Venezuela Ships Jet Fuel to Iran in Exchange for Gasoline

Venezuela is shipping jet fuel to Iran in return for vital gasoline imports for the South American nation as part of a swap deal agreed by the two state-run oil firms, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.Iran has ramped up assistance to Venezuela since last year as the United States tightened sanctions on both countries, hitting oil exports by state-run firms Petroleos de Venezuela and National Iranian oil Company (NIOC).Iran has sent flotillas of state-operated tankers carrying gasoline and feedstock for motor fuel to Venezuela, as well as equipment and spare parts to help the once-prosperous OPEC nation restart its…

25 Jan 2021

Iran Asks Indonesia to Explain Tanker Seizures

Iran has asked Indonesia to provide details about the seizure of an Iranian-flagged vessel, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday, a day after Jakarta said it had seized Iran and Panama-flagged tankers in its waters.Indonesia said on Sunday its coast guard had seized the Iranian-flagged MT Horse and the Panamanian-flagged MT Freya vessels over suspected illegal oil transfer in the country’s waters.Khatibzadeh said that the seizure was over a “a technical issue and it happens in shipping field”.“Our Ports Organisation and the ship owner company are looking to find the cause of the issue and resolve it,” Khatibzadeh told a televised weekly news conference.Coast guard spokesman Wisnu Pramandita said the tankers…

25 Jan 2021

Indonesia Seizes Iran, Panama-flagged Vessels Citing Illegal Oil Transfer

Iranian-flagged MT Horse (formerly known as Honar) - Credit: Mick Prendergast

Indonesia said its coast guard seized the Iranian-flagged MT Horse and the Panamanian-flagged MT Freya vessels over suspected illegal oil transfer in the country's waters on Sunday.Coast guard spokesman Wisnu Pramandita said the tankers, seized in waters off Kalimantan province, will be escorted to Batam island in Riau Island Province for further investigation."The tankers, first detected at 5:30 a.m. local time (2130 GMT on Jan. 23) concealed their identity by not showing their national flags…

09 Oct 2018

Iranian Tanker Offloads Oil for Bonded Storage in China

A vessel carrying 2 million barrels of Iranian oil discharged the crude into a bonded storage tank at the port of Dalian in northeast China on Monday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and a shipping agent with knowledge of the matter.Iran, the third-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), is finding fewer takers for its crude ahead of U.S. sanctions on its oil exports that will go into effect on Nov. 4. The country previously held oil in storage at Dalian during the last round of sanctions in 2014 that was later sold to buyers in South Korea and India.The very large crude carrier Dune, operated by National Iranian Tanker Co…

04 Sep 2018

Gulf Platforms Shut ahead of Hurricane

© Robert Cocquyt / Adobe Stock

U.S. oil prices edged up on Tuesday, rising back past $70 per barrel, after two Gulf of Mexico oil platforms were evacuated in preparation for a hurricane.U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $70.04 per barrel at 0034 GMT, up 24 cents, or 0.3 percent from their last settlement.Anadarko Petroleum Corp said on Monday it had evacuated and shut production at two oil platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico ahead of the approach of Gordon, which is expected to come ashore as a hurricane.International Brent crude futures…

20 Aug 2018

China Shifts to Iranian Tankers to Keep Oil Flowing Amid US Sanctions

© keller / adobe Stock

Chinese buyers of Iranian oil are starting to shift their cargoes to vessels owned by National Iranian Tanker Co (NITC) for nearly all of their imports to keep supply flowing amid the re-imposition of economic sanctions by the United States.The shift demonstrates that China, Iran's biggest oil customer, wants to keep buying Iranian crude despite the sanctions, which were put back after the United States withdrew in May from a 2015 agreement to halt Iran's nuclear program.The United…

16 May 2018

Container Shipping Line MSC Stops New Iran Bookings

The world's No. 2 container shipping line MSC said on Wednesday it would stop taking new bookings for Iran due to the decision by the United States to re-impose sanctions on Tehran after withdrawing from the international nuclear deal. In a note to clients, privately held MSC said it was "ceasing to provide access to services to and from Iran", adding that they would "conclude this period with the minimum disruption" to their customers' business. "While MSC is not accepting bookings for shipments originating from Iran, or destined to Iran, we will continue to carry certain legally acceptable cargoes during the wind-down period, notably for importation of foodstuffs," Switzerland-based MSC said in its note.

11 May 2018

Top Container Shipping Lines Reviewing Iran Operations

(File photo: MSC)

The world's top two container shipping groups Maersk Line and MSC are reviewing their Iran operations after the United States withdrawal from the international nuclear agreement with Tehran.The 2015 agreement, worked out by the United States, five other world powers and Iran, lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits to its nuclear program.U.S. President Donald Trump also instructed his administration to re-impose U.S. sanctions after a winding down period."MSC is reviewing its services…

07 May 2018

Sanchi Disaster Probe Ends in Split Verdict

File photo of Sanchi burning (Credit: China Ministry of Transport)

A committee investigating a collision between an Iranian tanker and a Chinese freighter has come to diverging conclusions over the causes of the worst oil ship disaster in decades, Iran's state television reported on Saturday.The Panama-registered Sanchi, run by Iran's top oil shipping operator NITC, collided with the CF Crystal, registered in Hong Kong, off the coast of China near Shanghai and the mouth of the Yangtze River Delta on Jan. 6.The Sanchi sank on Jan. 14 after burning for several days.

11 Jan 2018

China Oil Spill Compensation Claims Face Iran Payment Snags

(Photo: China's Ministry of Transport)

The reluctance of foreign banks to deal with Iran could complicate any compensation payments resulting from the collision last week of an Iranian oil tanker and a Chinese cargo ship, sources say. The tanker Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of highly flammable condensate oil, collided with the Chinese dry cargo vessel CF Crystal on Saturday in the East China Sea, causing an oil spill and a blaze that is still raging four days later. Liability has yet to be established but lawyers…

09 Sep 2020

Ship Collision; Iranian Tanker Burns; 32 Missing

A tanker carrying Iranian oil and run by the country's top oil shipping firm was ablaze and spewing cargo into the East China Sea on Sunday after colliding with a Chinese freight ship, leaving the tanker's 32 crew members missing, the Chinese government said.Thick clouds of dark smoke could be seen billowing out of the Sanchi tanker  engulfing the vessel as rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather and fire on and around the ship, Mohammad Rastad, head of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization, told Iranian television.The Sanchi, run by the country's top oil shipping operator, collided with the CF Crystal about 160 nautical miles off the coast near Shanghai and the mouth of the Yangtze River Delta on Saturday evening…

28 Dec 2017

NITC Signs 200 Tanker Charter Deals

The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) has signed over 200 leasing contracts for its vessels since the lifting of the Western-imposed economic sanctions two years ago, Financial Tribune reported on Thursday. The report quoted Iran Tanker Company's Chief Executive Officer Sirous Kianersi saying that from the easing of the sanctions (in January 2016) until the end of last month, foreign companies signed 215 time-charter and single-voyage deals for NITC tankers. NITC signed agreements with France's Total, Royal Dutch Shell, Spain's Cepsa, Vitol, Hanwha Total of South Korea, India's Essar, Turkish refiner Tupras, China's CNPC, among others.

26 Nov 2017

Norway to Aid Iran's Fleet

Iran's tanker shipping company plans to expand cooperation with Norwegian suppliers of parts for oil tankers, Financial Tribune daily reported. National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) head Sirous Kianersi quoted as saying that NITC has been in touch with Norwegian ship parts and equipment manufacturers in the last 20 years and we hope to keep up this collaboration. According to the report, the NITC plans to modernize its fleet of around 70 tankers, one of the largest in the world, under a five-year program, and Norwegian companies are "on the NITC's list" to help the company upgrade its large fleet. The cooperation is in line with the measures to comply with global environmental standards, Kianersi said at the Iran-Norway Bilateral Maritime Opportunities conference.

10 Jul 2017

NITC: Tanker Shipments to Europe Increasing

NITC, Iran's leading oil tanker operator, said on Monday its shipments to Europe were increasing daily and it plans to upgrade its fleet to support expansion. International sanctions on Iran were lifted in January 2016 and NITC is looking to come in from the cold after years of isolation. Mohammad Reza Shams Dolatabadi, NITC's head of international affairs, told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy industry conference in Istanbul that the company aimed to replace some of its older tankers with new vessels. He added that the company also planned to acquire liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers, marking a new direction for the company. "We are thinking of an LNG fleet in the future," he said. Dolatabadi said the number of NITC ships calling at European ports was set to increase.

24 Jan 2017

Iran VLCCs in Europe on First Post-Sanctions Trip

An Iranian oil tanker has called at a European port for the first time since the lifting of sanctions last January, IRNA news agency reported quoting Sirous Kianersi,  managing director of the National Iranian Tankers Company (NITC). Sirous said that the first NITC tanker leased to a major Spanish oil company docked at the Port of Algeciras just recently. More NITC tankers are heading to other European ports, he said, adding two vessels are currently en route to the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the Financial Tribune Daily said that The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) is launching a new service that will connect Iran to the French port of Le Havre.

27 Dec 2016

IRISL led JV for Ship Repair

The initial agreement for establishing a Joint Venture Company in ship repair sector, was signed between Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO), Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL) and ‎ National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC). According to MANA correspondent, the initial agreement for establishing a Joint Venture Company in ship repair sector, was signed by Dr. Mansour Moazami, Iran's deputy minister of Industry, Mine and Trade and head of the board at IDRO, Dr. Mohammad Saeedi , director and head of the board at IRISL and Sirous Kianersi, NITC director. Based on this agreement, a Joint Venture Company with the presence of IDRO, IRISL , NITC and a renowned international company will be established in the ship repair as well as building vessels sector.

24 Dec 2016

IRISL, NITC Pact for Ship Repair JV

The initial agreement for establishing a Joint Venture Company in ship repair sector, was signed between Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO), Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line(IRISL) and ‎ National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC). According to MANA correspondent, the initial agreement for establishing a Joint Venture Company in ship repair sector, was signed by Dr. Mansour Moazami, Iran's deputy minister of Industry, Mine and Trade and head of the board at IDRO, Dr. Mohammad Saeedi , director and head of the board at IRISL and Sirous Kianersi, NITC director. Based on this agreement, a Joint Venture Company with the presence of IDRO, IRISL , NITC and a renowned international company will be established in the ship repair as well as building vessels sector.

10 Oct 2016

Merchant Ships off Yemen Bracing for More Danger

USS Mason (File photo: U.S. Navy / Rob Aylward)

Missile attacks from Yemen on Western military craft risk spilling over into nearby busy sea lanes which could disrupt oil supplies and also other vital goods passing through the tense area, shipping and insurance sources say. While shipping companies have yet to divert ships, there are growing worries that any further escalation could hinder oil supplies and potentially lead to higher insurance costs for shipments. The route is among the world's busiest and used by major shipping groups such as container line Maersk and oil tanker carriers including Norway's Frontline and Iran's NITC…

04 Aug 2016

Tanker, Containership Collide in Singapore

An Iranian supertanker collided with a container ship in the Singapore Strait with no loss of life or pollution despite damage to both vessels, shipping officials said on Thursday. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the collision took place just before midnight on Thursday between Dream II, owned by Iran's top oil tanker operator NITC, and MSC Alexandra, owned by the world's no.2 container group MSC of Switzerland. The MPA and MSC said a number of container boxes fell into the sea, and others landed on the deck of Dream II. "We are ... extremely relieved to hear that there has been no loss of life, or pollution caused despite the significant damage to the hull of MSC Alexandra," Yock Juee Tan, managing director of MSC Asia, said in a statement.