New Delhi: Indian crew members of the ship seized by the Iranian Coast Guard last week are free to leave the country and return home, ThePrint has learnt. However, owing to “technical issues” and a need to operate the vessel, they have not done so yet.
According to media reports, the vessel was seized near the port of Jask, in the Gulf of Oman, within Iranian territorial waters, on 12 November for allegedly smuggling diesel, after being intercepted and inspected by the coast guard.
The tanker is reported to have been carrying approximately six million litres of smuggled diesel, which is roughly 37,000 barrels, and was manned by an 18-member crew—mostly from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. There is no clarity where the vessel is from, or if Iranians were among the crew.
“The ship’s crew are not under detention. Only the vessel has been seized. The crew members who are citizens of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are allowed to leave the ship and return to their home countries,” a person familiar with the matter told ThePrint.
The person added that “due to technical issues and the need to operate the vessel, they have not done so yet,” while highlighting that the Indian Embassy in Tehran has taken up the matter and is coordinating with the appropriate authorities to facilitate the return of the Indian nationals.
Authorities asserted that the vessel ignored orders to stop, lacked proper navigational and cargo documentation and had their radars switched off, according to Iranian media. The seizure of the vessel is the latest in two months. Iranian authorities had previously seized the tanker Talara, which was sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands in November. The Talara was seized for five days before being released and was carrying goods from the United Arab Emirates to Singapore.
Iranian authorities have stepped up vessel seizures in a bid to curb fuel smuggling, according to media reports. The seizure of the latest ship last Friday by Iran came days after the US intercepted and detained an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela that had past links to smuggling Iranian oil, according to The New York Times.
The ship, ‘Skipper’, seized by the US, was alleged to be carrying Venezuelan oil, according to media reports. Both Iran and Venezuela have been heavily sanctioned by the US.
The US under President Donald Trump has engaged in a “maximum pressure” campaign to force Tehran from enriching uranium. In June this year, American forces bombed Iranian nuclear facilities along with Israel. The 12-day war between Iran and Israel led to the deaths of a number of senior Iranian officials and serious damages to Isfahan, Natanz and Fordo nuclear facilities.
Tehran has faced a number of sanctions imposed by the US on its oil exports in a bid to negatively impact the Iranian economy. India has stopped purchasing Iranian oil since Trump reintroduced the sanctions in 2018.
(Edited by Shashank Kishan)
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