FILE PHOTO: Stena Impero, a British-flagged vessel owned by Stena Bulk, is seen at undisclosed place off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran August 22, 2019. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
DUBAI, Sept 23 (Reuters) – The detained British-flagged tanker Stena Impero is “free to leave,” Iran’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Hamid Baeidinejad, said on Twitter on Monday.
“The British-flagged tanker ‘Stena Impero’, pursuant to the completion of the judicial and legal process, is now free to leave,” he wrote.
The seizure on July 19 of the ship, two weeks after Britain detained an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar, ratcheted up tensions in the region in the wake of attacks on other merchant vessels that Washington blamed on Tehran.
Iran denied responsibility for those attacks, which took place along a vital international oil shipping route.
An Iranian government spokesman said on Monday that all legal steps had been completed for the release of the detained tanker but that he did not know when the vessel would be released, Iranian media reported.
“The legal work and administrative procedures for the release of the English tanker have been completed but I have no information on the time of the release,” said government spokesman Ali Rabiei, according to semi-official news agency ILNA.
The semi-official Fars news agency quoted Rabiei as saying: “The legal work for the oil tanker is over … and the oil tanker can move, and the decisions indicate the end of the detention.” He did not elaborate.
Relations between the United States, its allies and Iran have been gradually more strained since Washington withdrew last year from a global pact aimed at reining in Tehran’s nuclear program and imposed sanctions on it aimed at shutting down Iranian oil exports. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom and Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva; Editing by Hugh Lawson and David Evans)
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019.
Join the gCaptain Club for curated content, insider opinions, and vibrant community discussions.
Join the 110,095 members that receive our newsletter.
Have a news tip? Let us know.
By Dimitri Rhodes Nov 7 (Reuters) – Belgian oil tanker company CMB Tech says it will focus on the fast growing market in India as it reported third quarter results...
In a bold move amidst Russia’s intensified rocket attacks on civilian ships and Ukrainian ports, Maersk has launched a new weekly container service into Ukraine, signaling resilience in the country’s...
By Robert Tuttle (Bloomberg) A tanker of Canadian crude was shipped from Vancouver to Alaska for the first time in at least 10 years as the recently expanded Trans Mountain pipeline...
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
Sign Up
Maritime and offshore news trusted by our 110,095 members delivered daily straight to your inbox.
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
Sign Up
Join The Club
