All 23 crew on a British oil tanker seized last week by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz are safe and well, reports Reuters.
What happened?
The Stena Impero, while heading to a port in Saudi Arabia suddenly changed course after passing through the strait at the mouth of the Gulf and headed toward Iran.
It was then captured by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Reason for seizure
Iran said on Saturday it had seized the Stena Impero because it had collided with a fishing boat.
Stena Bulk said it had received no evidence of such a collision.
Crew reported safe
Stena Bulk spokesman Pat Adamson said that they had direct contact with the crew on board the vessel by telephone and they’re all okay and in good health and getting good cooperation with the Iranians on board.
He added that the vessel’s captain had said there was sufficient food on board and that crew members had communicated with their families.
CEO’ s reaction
Stena Bulk CEO Erik Hanell said he hoped Tuesday’s contact was “a first sign that we will soon see more positive progress from the Iranian authorities”.
Seizure related to piracy?
Britain described the seizure as piracy and called on Monday for a European-led naval mission to ensure safe shipping through the Strait, a strategic waterway for global oil transportation.
Britain’s proposal won initial support from France, Italy and Denmark, three senior EU diplomats said.
Sweden said on Wednesday it was concerned by the developments and that it was holding talks with Iran, Britain and others to try and resolve the situation.
Support and help for Stena Bulk
Adamson said all the appropriate governments and embassies were supporting and helping Stena Bulk, including home countries of the Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino crew members.
He said the next step for the operator would be to try and get somebody on board to check up on the crew, but that he had no timeline for when the crew might be repatriated.
He added that they haven’t had any direct response from the Iranian authorities about visiting the vessel yet but they hope to have that soon.
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Source: Reuters
