"Maersk Tigris" to be released when debt is settled
Iranian naval forces have released the "Maersk Tigris" after having directed the ship towards the Iranian island of Qeshm near the southern port of Bandar Abbas.
Al-Jazeera quoted Iranian sources as saying that Tehran had released the ship and that none of the crew members were detained. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Marzieh Afkham, said that the ship will be released after resolving a financial debt.
The captain of the ship was from Bulgaria and its second officer was from Russia. The nationalities of the remaining sailors of the ship were 13 Myanmar citizens, four Romanian citizens, one from Ukraine, one from UK, two Sri Lankan citizens and one from Poland. The Singapore-based Rickmers Maritime that has chartered the Maersk Tigris, said 24 crew members, mainly from Eastern Europe and Asia were on board. The paramount concern of Maersk was the safety and well-being of the crew. Maersk was working in close dialogue with Rickmers to obtain information about the seizure and explore options to help resolve the situation. The US Department of Defence confirmed that an Iranian navy vessel fired shots at the container ship and steered it towards an Iranian port while sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. The shots were fired when the captain refused to halt and change direction. The Pentagon also denied that the vessel had entered Iranian territorial waters, noting that a US destroyer in the gulf is following developments.
Iranian naval forces have released the "Maersk Tigris" after having directed the ship towards the Iranian island of Qeshm near the southern port of Bandar Abbas.
Al-Jazeera quoted Iranian sources as saying that Tehran had released the ship and that none of the crew members were detained. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Marzieh Afkham, said that the ship will be released after resolving a financial debt.
The captain of the ship was from Bulgaria and its second officer was from Russia. The nationalities of the remaining sailors of the ship were 13 Myanmar citizens, four Romanian citizens, one from Ukraine, one from UK, two Sri Lankan citizens and one from Poland. The Singapore-based Rickmers Maritime that has chartered the Maersk Tigris, said 24 crew members, mainly from Eastern Europe and Asia were on board. The paramount concern of Maersk was the safety and well-being of the crew. Maersk was working in close dialogue with Rickmers to obtain information about the seizure and explore options to help resolve the situation. The US Department of Defence confirmed that an Iranian navy vessel fired shots at the container ship and steered it towards an Iranian port while sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. The shots were fired when the captain refused to halt and change direction. The Pentagon also denied that the vessel had entered Iranian territorial waters, noting that a US destroyer in the gulf is following developments.