Z’bar flagged Iranian tanker at Dar port with off spec fuel

Sources at Dar es Salaam Port said the suspicious oil tanker, which belongs to the National Iranian Tanker Company, loaded the cargo from Iran but its bill of lading

had been altered to indicate that it was loaded at Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

“The fuel on board this ship has very high sulfur content against our laws,” the source said, pointing out that importers of the fuel were showing papers that its

transit cargo was destined for Zambia.

“But this product, which has 10,000 parts per million of sulfur content, does not meet Zambian specifications either,” the source noted, warning that some crooked

local importers might be behind the consignment.

But to make matters worse, the Iranian ship, which was manufactured by a South Korean ship builder, Daewoo, in 2000 does not meet the requirements of berthing at Dar

es Salaam port.

“The tanker is more than 15 years old, which disqualifies it from berthing at our port,” the source noted.

Responding to the news about the ship, Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) Director General Joseph Masikitiko said he had no information about the matter.

“Let me find out from my colleagues then I will come back to you,” Masikitiko said, promising to give a statement later.

Last January, Masikitiko made headlines when he rejected to let MV Alexander Ridgebury carrying 37,000 metric tonness of petrol belonging to a Nigerian oil firm,

Sahara Energy Resources, to offload at Kurasini Oil Jetty (KOJ) because its fuel consignment was substandard.

Dar es Salaam acting Port Manager Hebel Mhanga did not respond to The Guardian’s phone calls and text messages relating to the subject, but sources at the Tanzania

Ports Authority said there were attempts to influence port officials to allow the aged tanker to offload at KOJ.