Trafigura says court ruling solves tanker dispute

Trafigura, the oil trader, said that a tanker carrying disputed Sudanese oil has received permission from an English court to deliver the contents to its destination and that proceeds will be held by the court until ownership is established.

The 600,000 barrel tanker, the Ratna Shradha, has been stranded off Japan for the past week awaiting permission to dock because of uncertainty surrounding ownership of the oil.

The dispute is part of a disagreement between Sudan and its recently created neighbour and former civil war foe South Sudan over oil ownership. The South Sudanese government claims the oil was illegally seized by Sudan, while Sudan argues that, while it does have the cargo, it was taken to satisfy unpaid transit fees.