Iraq moves to seize Kurdish oil off U.S. coast

BAGHDAD, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Oil Ministry said it filed a case in a U.S. court calling for the seizure of a cargo of Kurdish crude oil loaded on a tanker off the coast of Texas.

As of Friday, cargo vessel United Kalavrvta, flagged in the Marshall Islands, was positioned off the coast of Galveston, Texas.

The Oil Ministry in a late Thursday filing asked a federal judge to allow the seizure of the tanker, arguing the oil has already been sold to a third party and is destined for unloading. Once onshore, it would be mixed with other crude oil blends and become untraceable.

Last week, the semiautonomous Kurdistan Regional Government said it scored a victory when a Texas judge dismissed a previous order to seize the vessel. Baghdad issued a competing argument this week, saying the United States is "far from being open for illegal KRG exports."

Both sides make competing claims to the legality of Kurdish oil exports. The U.S. government, which said this issue is largely a commercial matter, has backed Baghdad's assertion it has the exclusive right to govern exports.