“Iran has released nine out of 12 Indians who were on board the ship MT Riah that was detained in early July, official sources said Thursday,” reported India Today.
Under the order of judiciary officials, IRGC seized Panama-flagged MT Riah on July 14 in a ‘surprise operation’ after being assured that it was smuggling one million liters of fuel. Later Panama confirmed that the ship had “deliberately violated international regulations,” which proved Iran’s legal right to detain the tanker.
The Indian outlet went on to say that Indian Embassy on Thursday got consular access to the 18 Indians who were on board British-flagged Stena Impero.
Iran says Stena Impero was seized because it had collided with an Iranian fishing vessel and inflicted damages on it and then ignored warning issued by Iranian authorities. The tanker had also switched off its GPS tracker and changed its direction in a dangerous move and sailed in a wrong opposite direction. Iran recently penned a letter to the UN Security Council to clarify on its measures regarding the British oil tanker. Videos show that all crews of Stena Impero are safe and sound.
MAH/PR