Iran has said that it has released all the crew of container ship MSC Aries (IMO 9857169), a 15,000 teu box ship abducted by Iranian special forces last month, although as yewt the crew have not been flown back to their home states.
Iran had seized the MSC Aries on April 12th in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that a Guards helicopter had boarded and taken into Iranian waters the Portuguese flagged vessel, saying it was linked to Israel.
Speaking to the Estonian foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stated that the seized ship had turned off its transponders in the territorial waters of Iran and jeopardised “the security of navigation”.
“The seized ship, which turned off its radar in Iran’s territorial waters and jeopardized the security of navigation, is under judicial detention,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said, adding that the release of the crew was a humanitarian act and they could return to their countries along with the ship’s captain. What remained unclear was the precise meaning of the Foreign Minister’s words – whether he meant that the captain could leave with the crew (should he so desire) or that, for the crew to be allowed to leave, he would be required to leave his ship behind, in the hands of the Iranian forces.
The ship itself remains anchored near three other vessels hijacked by Iranian special forces, the Advantage Sweet, Niovi and St Nikolas tankers, which were taken last year.
Elsewhere in the region, the NYK-operated car carrier Galaxy Leader remains in Yemeni waters, having been hijacked six months ago by the Houthis while it was off the Horn of Africa.
Somali pirates have also resumed their ransom tactics, abducting two ships in recent months.
