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Volgoneft-147

This photograph was taken on 02 February by the US Navy immediately after boarding by US Navy SEALs.  The helicopter viewable in the photo was used by the SEALs to fast rope to the deck.

On Thursday, February 3, 2000,  the Pentagon released overwhelming evidence that the Russian tanker Volgoneft-147 was smuggling oil. The previous day, a U.S. Navy cruiser intercepted the tanker outside the Persian Gulf.  During the capture, the Russians refused to obey orders to halt, so a heavily armed crew of Navy SEALs fast-roped to the deck from helicopters and took over the tanker at gunpoint.  

In a normal boarding, the Navy pulls up alongside a ship. In this case, however, the Russian tanker captain wouldn’t stop, so a team of 10 Navy SEALS from SEAL Team TWO fast-roped from a helicopter onto the ship. Once aboard, the skipper was confronted at gunpoint by Navy SEALS.  At that point, “the [Russian] skipper saw the light” and cooperated, a source said. Russian officials said the incident could further strain U.S.-Russian ties. Relations are already under pressure because of Washington’s criticism of Moscow’s assault on Chechnya, where the United States says the Russian military has done too little to prevent civilian deaths.

Global positioning satellite logs aboard the Volgoneft-147 indicated that it had been at the forbidden oil port of Shatt al Arab, in southern Iraq. Crew members aboard the ship provided inconsistent accounts of their recent port stops and ship charts had been altered. The U.S. had been tracking the vessel and a second Russian oil tanker for a month with spy satellites, ships and surveillance aircraft. 

The tanker, the Volgoneft-147, which had been detained about 162 nautical miles off the Omani coast, arrived Monday in the Persian Gulf state of Oman.  An Omani warship and a ship belonging to the Omani coast guard escorted the tanker. At least two U.S. Navy SEALs with face masks and machine guns were on board. Cohen also disclosed that an Iraqi naval officer was on board the ship when it was seized by U.S. Navy SEAL commandos.

Update

Evidence has been gathered and analyzed that conclusively supports the determination that the Russian-flagged tanker Volgoneft-147 smuggled illegal Iraqi oil in violation of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolutions. High resolution, capillary gas analysis of oil specimens establish the cargo as being of Iraqi origin. Documents and data from Volgoneft-147 also support the conclusion of the oil analysis, including documents found in the stateroom of the first officer, an Iraqi national. Additionally, the ship's navigation computer and handwritten navigational chart markings established a clear transit from Iraq, through Iranian territorial waters, to the United Arab Emirates. Volgoneft-147 was intercepted and boarded by multinational Maritime Interception Force (MIF) ships on the evening of Feb. 2 on suspicion that it was carrying illegal Iraqi oil. The Omani government subsequently agreed to accept custody of Volgoneft-147 for UN sanctions enforcement actions. The ship will be handled in accordance with the laws and customs of Oman. The crew will be returned to their country and the cargo and ship may be sold by the host nation.

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