A British-flagged tanker which had been seized by Iran in July has now been allowed to leave Iran, it would allow its crew to be repatriated in Dubai. The tanker had been seized when it was in the Strait of Hormuz.
This was done in retaliation of the United Kingdom (UK) seizing an Iranian tanker ‘Grace 1’ off the coast of Gibraltar. The ship had been released by the UK authorities in August. The detention was done after suspicion had arisen regarding the destination of the ship.
According to a report in Reuters, The Stena Impero was seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in the Strait of Hormuz waterway for alleged marine violations.
The ship had been detained midst rising tension in the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier in the year, there had been attacks on oil tankers while they had been passing the Strait of Hormuz. The relationship between the Uk and Iran have been strained since a while. The failure of finding a solution to the US pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Deal had led to the strained relationship between the two countries.
With sanctions imposed on Iran and its faltering economy, it has been under heavy international scrutiny it was blamed for the attacks on the merchant vessels. The company which operates the Stena Impero had said in a statement, “the families of crew members have been informed and the company is currently making arrangements for the repatriation of its valued seafarers at the earliest possible opportunity,’
This will be able to ease down the tensions regarding the maritime trade routes in the gulf which have been under threat. According to a report in Reuters, the ship is still being investigated of the said violations that it had committed and was detained.