Iran Says Seized British-Flagged Tanker Free to Leave

Iran's government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Monday that a British-flagged oil tanker is "free" to leave more than two months after it was seized in the Persian Gulf.

"The legal process has finished and based on that the conditions for letting the oil tanker go free have been fulfilled and the oil tanker can move," Rabiei told a news conference.

He did not specify when the Swedish-owned vessel would be allowed to set sail.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps surrounded the Stena Impero with attack boats before rappelling onto the deck of the tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on July 19.

The vessel was impounded at Iran's Bandar Abbas port for allegedly failing to respond to distress calls and turning off its transponder after hitting a fishing boat.

Stena Bulk, the company that owns the tanker, said on Sunday that it expected the vessel to be released soon, but expressed caution about the situation.

"We understand that the political decision has been taken to release the ship," Stena Bulk's chief executive Erik Hanell told Swedish television station SVT.

"We hope it will be able to leave in a few hours, but we don't want to take anything for granted. We want to make sure the ship sails out of Iranian territorial waters," he said.

The ship's seizure came hours after a court in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar said it was extending the detention of the Grace 1, an Iranian oil tanker later renamed the Adrian Darya 1.

At the time, Tehran denied the seizure of the Stena Impero was a tit-for-tat move.

A Gibraltar court ordered the Iranian tanker's release on August 15 despite an 11th-hour US legal bid to keep it in detention.

Photo: Mizan News Agency

Swedish Owner of Tanker Seized by Iran Says Crew 'Safe'

The Swedish company that owns the UK-flagged oil tanker seized by Iran said Wednesday it had finally been able to contact its crew being held on board and they declared themselves "safe.”

Stena Bulk said in a statement that the ship's captain "advised that everyone was safe with good cooperation with the Iranian personnel onboard".

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized control of the Stena Impero tanker last Friday as it was navigating through an international passage in the middle of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow chokepoint at the entrance of the Gulf.

The ship has since been held off shore near Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas.

Iranian officials have given varying reasons for its seizure and continued detention.

Some, such as Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, said it was for breaching maritime regulations.

It has also been variously claimed that its transponder was turned off, it was going the wrong way along a shipping channel or had collided with an unidentified fishing vessel.

Others, such as parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, said it was a tit-for-tat move responding to British commandos seizing an Iranian oil tanker on July 4 as it passed through Gibraltar's waters, under suspicion it was breaking EU sanctions on oil deliveries to Syria.

Iran has hinted it was open to a tanker swap, releasing the Stena Impero in exchange for its tanker, Grace 1, being allowed on its way.

Stena Bulk has been trying for days to have its representatives visit the Stena Impero and see the 23 detained crew members—who hail from India, Russia, Latvia and the Philippines—to verify their wellbeing and press for their release.

On Tuesday it insisted in a statement that the vessel was "in compliance with maritime regulations" when it was seized, with transponders functioning and using the right shipping traffic passage. "We can confirm that we are not aware of, and nor is there any evidence of a collision involving the Stena Impero," it said.

Seeking 'Progress' from Iran

While its representatives have not been able to physically see the crew, Stena Bulk said in its statement Wednesday that it had had "direct communication" with the ship's captain since late Tuesday.

The CEO of Stena Bulk, Erik Hanell, said the company appreciated the ability to speak to the crew remotely and expressed hope "that this is a first sign that we will soon see more positive progress from the Iranian authorities.”

Britain has slammed the seizure of the Stena Impero as "state piracy" that threatened freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

It has called for a European naval mission to be set up in the Gulf, separate from US patrols, to ensure the safety of shipping there. France has expressed willingness to take part in an "observer" mission, with efforts being made to de-escalate the situation.

Photo: Wikicommons

UK Mulls Options as Iran Says Ship's Fate Depends on Probe

By Amir Havasi

Iran warned Sunday that the fate of a UK-flagged tanker it seized in the Gulf depends on an investigation, as Britain said it was considering options in response to the standoff.

Authorities impounded the Stena Impero with 23 crew members aboard off the port of Bandar Abbas after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized it Friday in the highly sensitive Strait of Hormuz.

Video footage released by the Guards showed a ship with the oil tanker's markings being surrounded by speedboats, before troops in balaclavas descend a rope from a helicopter onto the vessel.

In an audio recording of a radio exchange, an Iranian officer can be heard telling the tanker to change course.

"You are ordered: change your course to three six zero... immediately. If you obey, you will be safe," he said.

The British frigate HMS Montrose intervenes to inform the Stena its "passage must not be impaired, impeded, obstructed or hampered" under international law.

The Iranians then tell the British warship: "Foxtrot 236 this is Sepah navy patrol boat. No challenge is intended... I want to inspect the ship for security reason."

The authenticity of the recording, obtained and released by London-based maritime security risk analysts Dryad Global, was confirmed by the UK defence ministry.

London has warned its ships to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about a third of the world's sea-borne oil.

On Sunday evening, Iran's English-language Press TV broadcast live footage from the deck of the seized ship, flying an Iranian flag.

"IRGC forces manage to lead tanker to Iran shores despite UK warship's interference," said a news ticker on the channel.

Iran Urges Crew's 'Cooperation'

Iran opened the probe after detaining the ship on allegations it failed to respond to distress calls and turned off its transponder after hitting a fishing boat.

Its crew is made up of 18 Indians, including the captain, three Russians, a Latvian and a Filipino.

"All of them are in full health... anchored in a safe place," said Allah-Morad Afifipoor, director-general of the Hormozgan province port and maritime authority.

"The investigation depends on the cooperation by the crew members on the vessel," he told Press TV.

The ship's owner said it was in "international waters" when it was "attacked by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter".

Stena Bulk's chief Erik Hanell said Sunday the firm had formally asked Iranian authorities for permission to visit the vessel's crew, and was waiting for a response.

Tehran has been at loggerheads with Washington since May 2018, when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from a landmark 2015 deal putting curbs on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Tensions in the Gulf have escalated since May this year, when the US boosted its military presence in the region in response to "indications of a credible threat by Iranian regime forces".

The US administration reimposed tough sanctions on Iran, which retaliated by increasing its enrichment of uranium beyond limits set in the nuclear accord.

Trump called off air strikes against Iran at the last minute in June after the Islamic republic downed a US drone, one of a string of incidents including attacks on tankers in the Gulf.

'Tit-for-Tat'

Britain summoned Iran's charge d'affaires on Saturday and urged his country to de-escalate tensions and release the tanker.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the seizure showed "worrying signs Iran may be choosing a dangerous path of illegal and destabilising behaviour".

Hunt called it a "tit-for-tat" situation, which flared hours after a Gibraltar court extended by 30 days the detention of an Iranian tanker seized two weeks ago on allegations of breaching UN sanctions against Syria.

On Sunday junior defence minister Tobias Ellwood told Sky News that Britain was "going to be looking at a series of options", without giving further details.

Hunt has said parliament will be updated on Monday about what further measures the British government would take.

Iran has remained defiant.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that Trump's national security adviser John Bolton "is turning his venom against the UK in hopes of dragging it into a quagmire".

Nearby Oman, which maintains strong ties with Iran, joined calls for the release of the Stena Impero and urged London and Tehran to resolve the dispute.

Separately, Iran said one of its tankers held in its regional rival Saudi Arabia since being forced to seek repairs in the kingdom is returning home.

The Happiness 1 "has been released following negotiations and is now moving toward Persian Gulf waters," said transport minister Mohammad Eslami, quoted by state news agency IRNA.

Photo: FleetMon