The Al Aqili family’s corporate network, the Grace I tanker (later Adrian Darya 1), and AvantGarde Tankers Ltd are intertwined through a complex web of maritime shipping and sanctions evasion. While direct operational links between these entities are not fully documented in public records, their relationships are illuminated by overlapping ownership, key personnels, and a shared purpose of navigating around international sanctions. Here’s how they connect, drawing from the Paradise Papers and Sayari research.
Al Aqili Companies: The Core of the Network
The Al Aqili family, rooted in Dubai, operates a vast array of companies, many of which have been implicated in helping Iran evade oil sanctions. Led historically by Mohamed Saeed Al Aqili and extended through relatives like Yaser Mohamed Saleh Al Aqili, their empire spans shipping, petrochemicals, and more. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has targeted entities like Al Aqili Group LLC for facilitating Iranian oil sales, often through front companies and obscure ownership structures. A key address—420 Oud Metha Tower in Dubai—recurs across their sanctioned entities, tying their operations together.
Grace I: The Al Aqili Tanker Caught in Action
Grace I, a Panama-flagged supertanker, became infamous in July 2019 when British forces seized it off Gibraltar, suspecting it of carrying Iranian crude to Syria in violation of EU sanctions. Owned by Grace Tankers Ltd, a St. Kitts shell company, it was managed by Iships Management Pte Ltd in Singapore. According to Sayari’s investigation, Yaser Al Aqili held power of attorney for Grace Tankers Ltd, directly linking the Al Aqilis to the vessel’s ownership. After its release and renaming to Adrian Darya 1, it completed its delivery, underscoring the family’s role in sanctions-busting logistics.
AvantGarde Tankers Ltd: A Malta-Based Cog
AvantGarde Tankers Ltd, registered in Malta in 2015, emerges in the Paradise Papers as an offshore entity under directors Rajeev Kumar Madhusoodanan Nair and Devanandan Kizhakkoott Kunjayyappan. International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) Offshore Leaks Database list it as a subsidiary of AvantGarde Petroleum FZC, a Dubai-based firm tied to Al Aqili network via shared addresses and personnels. Sayari’s research notes Kunjayyappan’s role as a director, connecting AvantGarde to the broader Al Aqili companies through its parent company and locations like Oud Metha Tower.
The Connections
The threads binding these entities are intricate but clear:
- Al Aqili Control: The family’s influence is explicit with Grace I—owned via Grace Tankers Ltd under Yaser Al Aqili’s authority. AvantGarde Tankers Ltd, while less overt, is tethered through AvantGarde Petroleum, which Sayari identifies as an Al Aqili subsidiary, sharing directors and addresses like Oud Metha Tower, a hub flagged in OFAC designations.
- Shared Personnel: So, check this out—Kunjayyappan, one of the big shots running AvantGarde Tankers Ltd, is also in on AvantGarde Shipping Pte Ltd with this dude Gary Neil Webster. Apparently, Webster’s tight with some guy named Nader Mohamed Saleh Al Aqili, popping up together in a bunch of Dubai companies, so that’s a pretty solid thread tying them all up. Then there’s Rahul Bhatnagar—he’s the main guy behind Iships Management, which handled that Grace I ship, and get this, he’s also co-directing AvantGarde Shipping with Kunjayyappan and Webster. That’s what Sayari’s pointing out, and it’s like all these Al Aqili and Grace I worlds are crashing into each other through these folks. Wild how they’re all tangled up, right?
- Sanctions-Evasion Patterns: Grace I’s illicit oil run mirrors the Al Aqilis’ documented history of masking Iranian crude origins, a tactic OFAC has penalized. AvantGarde Tankers Ltd’s offshore setup in Malta, exposed in the Paradise Papers, fits the same playbook—using secrecy jurisdictions to obscure activities. Though not sanctioned, its Al Aqili ties suggest a similar purpose.
Missing Direct Ties
No public records show AvantGarde Tankers Ltd directly managing or owning Grace I—those roles fell to Grace Tankers Ltd and Iships Management. The Paradise Papers and Sayari don’t list AvantGarde’s vessels, leaving its operational scope unclear. Instead, the connection is structural: both are Al Aqili offshoots, designed for the same shadowy trade.
Sources:
- ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database: https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/55065564
- Sayari Report, In the Grace I’s Wake: Ship Management & Sanctions Evasion (Part 2): https://sayari.com/resources/in-the-grace-is-wake-ship-management-and-sanctions-evasion-part-2/
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