The product tanker that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard detained last week has now been released, but the cargo is gone. This is according to the ship’s manager, Columbia Shipmanagement.
The tanker Talara was boarded by Iranian forces on Friday and taken to the coast, but the crew is safe and “in good spirits,” according to the shipping company. The ship is now sailing in ballast after its cargo of high-sulphur gasoil has disappeared, writes gCaptain.
It was the first time Iran detained a ship in the area since April 2024, and it raised concerns about new Iranian actions against merchant ships near the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. However, Iranian state media justified the intervention with “unspecified violations.”
Bloomberg data shows that the Talara sailed away from Iranian waters early Wednesday, and that the ship’s draft decreased – a sign that the oil on board has been removed.
-emte
