February 2, 2000
Web posted at: 9:00 p.m. EST (0200 GMT)

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sailors from the cruiser USS Monterey boarded the Russian ship Volgonef in the Persian Gulf at midday Wednesday on suspicion that the Volgonef had violated the U.N. oil embargo on Iraq, a senior U.S. official has told CNN.

The merchant ship was boarded with no resistance from the captain or crew, the official said Wednesday.

The oil embargo is part of economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations on Baghdad after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

The United States had been monitoring two Russian ships, according to Department of Defense sources, for several weeks on suspicion they were smuggling Iraqi oil from Shatt al Arab, Iraq, to the port of al Fujayrah in the United Arab Emirates.

The second ship remains in Iranian territorial waters, preventing the United States from boarding, Defense sources said.

First boarding of Russian vessel

While the inspection of ships in the Persian Gulf for suspected smuggling is not unusual, it is the first time a Russian ship has been involved.

The administration official said the incident demonstrates that the United States "will vigorously enforce" the U.N. oil embargo. The United States and the United Nations will continue to put a "high priority on Iraqi smuggling" even when it involves a country such as Russia, the official said.

Senior military officials said Iran may also be implicated, for allegedly allowing the Volgonef to directly offload smuggled oil to other ships.

The Russian government has established diplomatic contact with the United States through the ambassadorial level on the issue.

Price rise fuels increase in smuggling

There has been an increased level of suspected smuggling in recent months due to rising oil prices, sources said.

In December alone, approximately 130 ships have been involved in oil smuggling, a record number since the inception of the embargo, U.S. officials said.

U.S. officials believe the oil is from refineries in southern Iraq. The U.S. Navy took dual oil samples from the detained ship in an effort to establish whether in fact it is Iraqi oil.

It is unclear when the analysis will be completed.

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