Black Cube, an Israeli, London-based private intelligence agency, has found that the Emerald tanker registered in the Marshall Islands as Emerald Marine LTD is actually owned by a Syrian. According to Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Emerald was responsible for the oil spill that dumped more than 1,000 tons that polluted Israel’s Mediterranean beaches in February. The ministry announced that the ship was smuggling oil from Iran to Syria when the spill took place.
חברת בלאק קיוב מצאה כי המכלית Emerald הרשומה באיי מרשל בשם Emerald Marine LTD נמצאת בפועל בבעלות סורית. אנחנו מצטרפים להערכה זו על סמך הקשר שבין החברה לצוותי הספינה ובהם קפטן הספינה, כפי שעולה ברשת החברתית של החברה.
— אינטלי טיימס – Intelli Times (@IntelliTimes)
IntelliTimes, which tweeted the Black Cube repot Sunday night, says it joins its assessment based on the relationship between the company and the ship’s crews including the ship’s captain, as revealed on the company’s social network. Most of the ship’s operations crews live in the city of Tartus, Syria.
The initial information about the connection between the ship, Syria, and Oryx Shipping Ltd, was revealed on March 4 by the Lloyd’s List Intelligence website.
Black Cube issued a statement saying: “As part of the company’s pro bono activities, we are happy to help with such an important issue. We will continue to serve the government in whatever is required.”