COAST GUARD ALLOWS DETAINED TANKER TO OFF-LOAD OIL
The U.S. Coast Guard has allowed a Qatar-flagged, 880-foot tanker, the 'Aldawha,' to off-load oil after detaining the vessel in Delaware Bay because two Iraqi nationals were found to be part of its crew.
The Iraqi crewmen “have been replaced and an armed Coast Guard boarding team remains on the vessel,” a Coast Guard spokesman said Monday.
“The captain of the port in Philadelphia ordered the ship to anchor after determining, through advance notice of arrival screening, the nationality of the two crewmen,” the spokesman said.
The Coast Guard said the tanker was off-loading oil at Coastal Petroleum’s Eagle Point refinery.