New Delhi: Eighteen Indian nationals among the 23 crew members of a British-flagged oil tanker were seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz amid a fresh escalation of tensions in the Gulf, according to the company which said there were no reports of any injuries.
The Stena Impero was seized on Friday by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard for breaking “international maritime rules” in the strait after the British-flagged oil tanker collided with an Iranian fishing boat.
India is currently in touch with Iran to secure the release of the Indians on board of the seized British ship Stena Impero
“We are ascertaining further details of the incident. Our mission is in touch with the government of Iran to secure the early release and repatriation of Indian nationals,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in response to a question on the detention of Indian crew members along with the oil tanker by Iranian authorities.
Stena Bulk, a Swedish company which owns the vessel, said they have been unable to contact the ship, which was seized in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway in the region.
“Soon after the vessel was approached by unidentified small naval craft and a helicopter during her transit of the Strait of Hormuz in international waters…the vessel suddenly deviated from her passage to Jubail and headed north towards Iran,” the company said.
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“There are 18 Indian and five crew members from Russia, Philipines, Latvia and other countries on board of Stena Impero. The captain is Indian, but the tanker is UK-flagged,” IRNA quoted Allahmorad Afifipour, director-general of Ports and Maritime Affairs of Hormuzgan province, as saying.
The vessel was in full compliance with all navigation and international regulations and was allegedly on its way to Saudi Arabia, according to authorities at the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
The vessel had “collided with a fishing boat on its route and, according to law, after an accident, it is necessary that the cause of the accident are investigated,” said Allah-Morad Afifipoor, director-general of the Hormozgan province port and maritime authority in an NDTV report.
“The investigation into the cause of the accident has been started today by experts” from Hormozgan province’s port and maritime authority, he added.
Erik Hanell, president and chief executive, Stena Bulk, said: “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 remain our primary focus.
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“We are in close contact with both the UK and Swedish government authorities to resolve this situation, and we are liaising closely with our seafarers’ families,” Hanell said.
Britain said Iran had seized two ships in the Gulf, and foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt warned of “serious consequences” if the issue was not resolved quickly, but told Sky News that “we’re not looking at military options, we are looking at a diplomatic way to resolve the situation.” states NDTV.
The British owner of the second tanker, the Liberian-flagged Mesdar, said the ship had been temporarily boarded by armed personnel but was free to leave and that all crew were “safe and well”, the report added.
The incidents came hours after a court in Gibraltar said it would extend by 30 days the detention of an Iranian tanker seized two weeks ago in an operation aided by British Royal Marines on allegations of breaching EU sanctions against Syria.
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Tanker tracking service Marine Traffic showed the Stena Impero had last signalled its location near the island of Larak at 9:00 pm (1630 GMT), according to NDTV.
The Guards also said Thursday they had seized another “foreign tanker” and its twelve crew days earlier for allegedly smuggling fuel, without giving further details.
Gibraltar’s chief minister Fabian Picardo claimed that the ship was transporting crude oil to Syria “in violation” of the EU sanctions placed on Damascus, escalating tensions in the Gulf.
(With inputs from PTI)