The ministry’s Public Relations Office said in a press brief that the tanker MT-ARMAN 114, impounded by the Indonesian Coast Guard, was not carrying an Iranian shipment.
“The news published about the vessel attributing its cargo to the Islamic Republic of Iran lacks any credibility and was meant to create a negative hype around our country,” the statement read.
Indonesia’s Coast Guard said on July 11 that it had seized an Iranian-flagged supertanker suspected of involvement in the illegal transshipment of crude oil the week before.
It identified the tanker as the MT Arman 114, and claimed it had been carrying 272,569 metric tons of light crude oil, valued at $304 million, when it was seized.
Indonesia claimed that the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) was suspected of transferring oil to another vessel without a permit.