Iran Releases Impounded Ship
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship recently impounded in the Persian Gulf by Iranian forces has been released.
An informed source was quoted as saying by IRNA on Thursday that the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization (IPMO) will soon issue a statement on the details of the ship's release.
MV Maersk Tigris, a Danish owned vessel registered in the Marshall Islands, was intercepted by the Iranian Coast Guard and diverted toward Larak Island near Bandar Abbas on April 28.
It was seized by court order and following a private complaint and lawsuit against it over debts to the Iranian companies, the Iranian embassy in Denmark said in a statement earlier this month.
The move by the Iranian authorities was in compliance with international law and norms and the Islamic Republic of Iran's regulations, the embassy underlined.
It emphasized at the time that the vessel would be allowed to leave the country after the payment of its debts.
The vessel has been described as a 65,000-ton container ship and listed as sailing from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Jeddah, bound for the United Arab Emirates port of Jebel Ali in the Persian Gulf.
It reportedly had 24 crew on board, mostly from Eastern Europe and Asia.
