Iran
has completed construction of the first of four oil tankers to be sold
to
Venezuela
for a total 230 million euros ($278 million), the official news agency
IRNA reported Tuesday.
The Aframax-category tanker--capable of carrying 113,000 metric tons of oil,
the equivalent of 75,000 barrels--was built over the past two years by the
Iranian shipbuilding company SADRA, which was put under
U.S.
sanctions in March because it is owned by
Iran
's
powerful Revolutionary Guards.
IRNA said it was put into the water in the southern city of
Bushehr
.
The other three will be built in coming months as part of the 2007
euro-denominated contract signed with
Venezuela
.
At today's exchange rate, the total contract is worth the equivalent of $278
million.
Iran
is suffering
U.S.
and European Union sanctions hampering the export of its oil, its top source of
revenue, as part of Western pressure over its disputed nuclear program.
Its own fleet of around 40 oil tankers, the biggest in the
Middle East
, is mostly made up of
far bigger supertankers bought from foreign shipbuilders and capable of
carrying up to 2 million barrels of oil each.
China
is to supply two more to the fleet next year.
Iran
's tankers, many of which are anchored offshore as floating depots of
unsold oil according to the International Energy Agency, are prevented from
making their way to
Europe
because of an EU ban that came into force this month.
Venezuela
, whose government shares
Tehran
's anti-U.S.
stance, is one of
Iran
's
most important allies in the world.
Both countries are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries and have deepened economic ties in recent years.