Master of Shadow Fleet Tanker Pleads Guilty in D.C. for Evading U.S. Coast Guard During Weeks-Long Pursuit

Avtandil Kalandadze, 47, the former ship master of a shadow fleet tanker that historically transported Iran- and Venezuela-origin oil for the ultimate benefit of U.S. adversaries, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court for refusing to obey orders from the U.S. Coast Guard during a multi-week pursuit from the Caribbean Sea through to the North Atlantic Ocean, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.