(Wall Street Journal) Claudia Rosett - Iran's main oil tanker company, NITC, has just reflagged roughly half its fleet to the minuscule Pacific island nation of Tuvalu. Tuvalu now hosts at least 21 Iranian oil tankers on its shipping register - the bulk of them previously flagged to Malta, and a few to Cyprus. The ships have also shed their old Persian names, such as Nesa, Sima and Hatef. These vessels now sail under the new names of Truth, Blossom and Glory. Of the remaining NITC oil tankers, a handful still appear on Lloyd's ship-tracking service as flagged to Malta; 10 now show as reflagged to Tanzania, bedecked with new names such as Justice, Leadership and Freedom.
2012-07-13 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive