MOSCOW, September 23. /TASS/: Iran’s authorities have freed the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero, which was detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait of Hormuz, Sky News Arabia reported on Monday.
Iranian Government Spokesman Ali Rabiei said "legal procedures on releasing the British tanker have been completed." However, he gave no exact date when the vessel would leave Iran’s coast.
On July 19, IRNA reported that the UK-flagged tanker Stena Impero was detained in the Strait of Hormuz after it had failed to respond to the warnings by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite military force of the Islamic Republic. According to the IRGC, the vessel was seized for "the violations of international maritime regulations" and was escorted to the shore for a check. Later, the Iranian authorities said the tanker had been involved in an incident with an Iranian fishing vessel.
In early September, Iran’s authorities let seven crew members of the tanker, including one Russian, leave Iran and go to the United Arab Emirates. Some 16 crew members remain onboard the tanker, satisfying the vessel’s minimum safe manning certificate.
