ARMAN 114

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Master of Iranian shadow fleet tanker fled before his trial

A court in Batam has delayed the trial and reading of the verdict on July 4, 2024, in a case of the 'Arman 114', that was caught conducting an illegal STS oil transfer and charged with causing pollution after the master of the vessel disappeared five days before the court was scheduled to convene in the latest turn in a case that started over a year ago. The master of the 'Arman 114', Mahmoud Abdelaziz Mohamed Hatiba, aged 43 and believed to be an Egyptian citizen, was facing the possibility of seven years in prison and a fine of more than $305,000. If he failed to pay the fine, a further six months in jail would have been added to his sentence. Prosecutors also asked the court to seize the crude oil tanker and auction it off along with its cargo. Initial reports in 2023 said there were more than 272,000 metric tons of crude oil aboard although later reports said it was just under 167,000 metric tons of light crude oil. Several entities presented themselves to the court claiming to be the order of the tanker while the Iranian Embassy in Jakarta has denied ownership and said the vessel is owned by an Iranian citizen. The 'Arman 114' has repeatedly appeared on watch lists from various organizations accused of being used to smuggle Iranian oil. The ship is believed to be registered in Iran but it has not undergone inspections according to the databases in years and its management and insurance are unknown. In June 2023, the Indonesian Coast Guard discovered the vessel alongside second tanker displaying the name 'S Tinos' and reporting to be registered in Cameroon. However, the ship was using the identity of a tanker that had been scrapped five years earlier. Neither ship was displaying a flag or transmitting accurate AIS data. The 'Arman 114' was displaying a position in the Red Sea at the time. When the ships were discovered, they attempted to flee, and the Malaysian authorities assisted the Indonesian conterparts in stopping the 'Arman 114' which was detained with a total of 29 people aboard, including the wife and child of the security officer. The crew was reported to be from Iran and Egypt. They were also being detained in Batam with reports that they had come ashore without proper paperwork. Three months after the vessels were discovered, Indonesian prosecutors in Oct 2023 added charges of dumping waste. They had tested oil found in the water and determined it came from the Arman 114. The captain allegedly had ordered the crew to dump oily water overboard. Shortly before the hearing scheduled for last week, the Attorney General’s Office confirmed it had a visit from the Iranian Embassy requesting the ship and its cargo be released. Iranian officials denied the ownership of the tanker or the cargo aboard. The court went into recess after the master failed to report for the hearing and was now due to reconvene on July 4. The court has ordered if the master can be located that he should be detained, while prosecutors are pressing for the court to proceed with the seizure of the vessel and its cargo. It was unclear if any of the other crew members might face charges for the transfer, pollution, and attempts to display a false identity and flee from authorities. Report with photo: https://maritime-executive.com/article/master-of-iranian-shadow-tanker-disappears-days-before-indonesian-trial

Iran denies ownership of seized tanker

The Islamic Republic of Iran on July 21 has announced that the 'Arman 114', which was seized by Indonesia on July 11 does not belong to the country. The Iranian Oil Ministry stated: "The reports that try to link the cargo of that ship to the Islamic Republic of Iran are not valid and are part of a propaganda campaign against Iran." The tanker remained stationary in pos. 01° 11.87'N 103° 58.79' E as of July 21.

Tanker seized during illegal transshipment

Indonesia's Coast Guard has seized the 'Arman 114' near Indonesia's North Natuna Sea on July 7, 2023, suspected of involvement in the illegal transshipment of crude oil and vowed to strengthen maritime patrols. The 'Arman 114' was carrying 272,569 metric tons of light crude oil, valued at 4.6 trillion rupiah ($304 million) and was suspected of transferring the oil to another vessel without a permit. The tanker was captured after it was spotted conducting a ship-to-ship oil transfer with the Cameroon flagged crude oil tanker 'S Tinos'. The two tankers tried to escape, and authorities decided to focus their pursue on the 'Arman 114', , assisted by Malaysian authorities as the vessel sailed into Malaysian waters. The 'Arman 114' was also, suspected of violating other maritime regulations, such as manipulating its AIS, trying to show that its position was on the Red Sea but in reality it was not rhere. The 'S Tinos' was supposed to have been scrapped in 2018. As a result of the lack of AIS due to spoofing, there are no details of the position where the vessel was seized apart from in the North Natuna Sea. As of July 7, the 'Arman 114' was stationary in pos. 26 57 00 N, 034 47 00 E on July 7.