950 Chapter 7
Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that the tanker had been taking on heating oil in
Iran, not Iraq, and demanded the immediate release of the tanker.
On February 5, 2000, the tanker was moved to Oman for further inspection of the
oil and unloading. Tests confirmed on February 6 that the oil the Russian tanker was
carrying originated from Iraqi in violation of the UN embargo. The Russians protested
the tests and wanted to carry out their own tests, but everything continued as before.
Since the oil was confirmed to be Iraqi, it was up to the Omanis to decide how to
proceed with the oil and the ship itself. Russia commissioned a Swiss organization to
conduct an independent test of the oil on February 8. However, the test results came
back a few days later, and the Foreign Ministry in Moscow refused to comment on
them. On February 16, the Russian government dispatched a spy ship to the Mediter-
ranean to monitor NATO and American activity following the seizure of the Russian
tanker. The offload of oil was completed on February 18, and the crew of 17 Russians
and one Iraqi was allowed to leave Omani waters. On March 1, the US Navy detained
and searched another Russian tanker in the Gulf in a routine check but found no evi-
dence of wrongdoing.
During the month of March, there were discussions between Russia and the United
States over the tanker issue, but very little was agreed upon. United States boarded
another Russian tanker on April 7 that was carrying oil for the Royal Dutch/Shell oil
company. As the Russians protested that the stop was due to the fact that the ship was
Russian, American officials stated that they would determine the continued detention
or release of the ship pending test results of the origin of the oil. At the end of the
month, the tests determined that the oil was in fact of Iraqi origin and the ship was
again diverted to Oman. Once the oil was offloaded and Royal Dutch/Shell fully paid
for the freight of the ship, it was released.
MID#4220
Dispute Number: 4220
Date(s): October 17, 2000 to November 9, 2000
Participants: 365 Russia/2 United States of America
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: On October 17, 2000, a Russian reconnaissance plane and an interceptor
fighter were reported to have entered unnoticed into the American groupings radar
zone. They flew over the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk and took photographs. Rus-
sian reconnaissance planes again overflew the group in November as well. The flights
took place over the Sea of Japan while the carrier group headed toward the Korean
Strait for exercises.
MID#4197
Dispute Number: 4197
Date(s): November 30, 2000 to January 2001
Participants: 365 Russia/2 United States of America, 20 Canada
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (Unclear)