Seized British-flagged tanker leaves Iran after being held for two months
A British-flagged oil tanker held by Iran for more than two months has been released by Tehran.
The Stena Impero tanker was seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait of Hormuz on July 19, accused of violating international maritime law.
But on Friday morning the vessel and its crew were heading for freedom after leaving the port of Bandar Abbas, on the southern coast of Iran.
Stena Bulk said the crew were heading to Dubai for medical checks.Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: "The Stena Impero was unlawfully seized by Iran. It is part of a pattern of attempts to disrupt freedom of navigation.
"We are working with our international partners to protect shipping and uphold the international rule of law."
Stena Bulk said the crew were heading to Dubai for medical checks.
Erik Hanell, Stena Bulk's president and chief executive, added: "The families of crew members have been informed and the company is currently making arrangements for the repatriation of its valued seafarers at the earliest possible opportunity."
The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the world’s oil passes.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency had reported the country’s seizure of the British-flagged oil tanker was due to a collision with an Iranian fishing boat.
On Monday, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei told journalists that legal proceedings against the Stena Impero had ended.
“Based on a friendly approach that allows forgiving mistakes, ground for freedom of the tanker has been paved and it can move,” Mr Rabiei said.
Its seizure came after authorities in Gibraltar seized an Iranian tanker carrying $130 million (£104 million) in crude oil on suspicion of it breaking European Union sanctions on Syria.
Gibraltar later released the tanker, then called the Grace 1, after it said Iran had promised the ship would not go to Syria.
Tehran’s semi-official Fars new agency quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi as saying on Wednesday that the vessel was close to being released.
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“Today, the procedures for discharging Stena Impro ship has been finalised with the foreign ministry’s follow-ups and valuable co-operation between the judiciary and the Ports and Maritime Organisation Of Iran, but the case stays open to study some of its violations and damages to the environment,” Mr Mousavi tweeted on Wednesday.
The ship seizures came after months of heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf, sparked by US president Donald Trump’s decision over a year ago to withdraw from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers and impose crippling sanctions on its vital oil trade.
Iran has since begun breaking terms of the deal.