Iran will soon release British-flagged tanker seized in strait of Hormuz
- Iranian authorities told the Fars news agency on Sunday that the Swedish-owned Stena Impero would imminently be released
Iran says it will soon release a British-flagged tanker that its Revolutionary Guards seized more than two months ago, sparking a crisis in Gulf shipping.
Maritime authorities in the Islamic republic told the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday that the Swedish-owned Stena Impero would imminently be released, confirming earlier remarks by the chief executive of Stena Bulk, the company that owns the vessel.
“We received information this morning indicating that the ship Stena Impero is going to be released in a few hours,” Erik Hanell, chief executive at Stena Bulk, told Swedish television SVT on Sunday.
The Stena Impero was dramatically seized on July 19 as it passed through the strait of Hormuz after Iranian officials claimed it had infringed maritime regulations. Footage released by Iran showed Revolutionary Guards descending from a helicopter to take control of the ship and detain its 23 crew members.
About two weeks earlier, British Royal Marines seized an Iranian supertanker off the coast of Gibraltar carrying 2.1 million barrels of crude oil that UK authorities alleged was to be sold to Syria in breach of EU sanctions against Bashar al-Assad’s government. Iran has denied the Stena Impero’s impoundment was a tit-for-tat move.
The takeover, which led the UK to advise its ships to temporarily avoid the strait of Hormuz, was part of a wave of sabotage attacks and seizures of ships over the past six months in and around the narrow waterway through which more than a quarter of the world’s oil supply passes.