Iran seizes UK's oil tanker, Indians among 23 crew members
In what is sure to lead to more tensions in the Gulf region, Iran on Saturday seized a British oil tanker. As per reports, there are Indian nationals aboard the tanker, which is carrying 23 people. Iran also caught hold of another oil tanker, which is Liberian-flagged but British operated. However, the second tanker was released soon. Here are more details.
Vessel was seized for not following international laws, claimed Iran
On Saturday, Iran announced it has seized British tanker Steno Impero. Stena Bulk, the owner of the cargo vessel, and Northern Marine Management confirmed the ship went "untraceable". While Iran said it seized Stena Impero for "non-compliance with international maritime laws and regulations", the company claimed the vessel was in "full compliance with all navigation and international regulations" when it was intercepted.
Safety of crew remains our primary focus: Company
"There are 23 seafarers onboard of Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino nationality. There have been no reported injuries and the safety and welfare of our crew remains our primary focus," Erik Hanell, an official of the company, said.
Iran also seized another ship, but released it soon
Hours after Steno Impero was seized, another ship named Mesdar also went haywire. The ship took a sudden diversion towards the Saudi port of Ras Tanura, and its tracking signal was also turned off. The signal was turned on less than two hours later. As per Iranian news agency, Fars, Mesdar was given the notice to comply with environmental regulations before being released.
UK's Jeremy Hunt called Iran's action 'unacceptable'
Reacting on the events, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said there will be "serious consequences" if Iran doesn't release the tanker soon. However, he didn't talk about "military prospects" and batted for a "diplomatic way" to solve this. "This is completely unacceptable. Freedom of navigation must be maintained. We are having an emergency meeting of the government's Cobra committee," he said.
Freedom of navigation in Gulf is essential: Hunt
"Freedom of navigation in the Gulf is absolutely essential. If that freedom of navigation is restricted, Iran is the biggest loser and so it is in their interest to resolve this situation as quickly as possible," Hunt's statement added.
Separately, Trump said he was right about Iran
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said the turn of events vindicates his opinion about Iran. "This only goes to show what I'm saying about Iran. Trouble. Nothing but trouble," he said. Notably, this is the second time in two months that Iran tried to seize a British oil tanker. Last time, armed Iranian boats unsuccessfully attempted to seize a tanker in the Persian Gulf.
