The footage shows the Iran-flagged vessel –reportedly shadowed by a US ship– as it passed through stormy waters en route to Venezuelan shores with hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil in its tanks.
The video, posted on Twitter by Iran’s embassy to Venezuela, shows ‘Fortune’s journey through Venezuela’s exclusive economic zone. Presumably shot from the ship’s bridge, the footage shows the upper deck of the oil tanker washed by powerful waves as it struggles against stormy weather. The video, though, has been deleted from the embassy’s Twitter page.
The embassy later published another clip, which was filmed from a helicopter and showed the tanker escorted by a warship from Venezuela’s navy.
Muy agradecido al ejército valiente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela por escoltar y dar la bienvenida a los tanqueros de nuestro país. pic.twitter.com/V3LwLROQDb
The vessel set sail from Iran earlier this month, carrying the first fuel supply for the South American country, which has been plagued by economic downturn and sweeping US sanctions. A total of five tankers are expected to unload some 1.5 million barrels of gasoline at Venezuelan ports.
Caracas had previously deployed its military to shield the friendly tankers from any US actions, fearing what it called “the threat of imminent use of military force” by Washington. Tehran, in turn, warned that the US ‘will be in trouble’ if it interferes with their passage.
Still, ‘Fortune’ and four other tankers were followed by a US cargo ship, according to vessel-tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon service.
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