Tanker seized by Iran released

A TANKER seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps last week was released on Tuesday morning.

The Marshall Islands-flagged, 73,371 dwt Talara (IMO: 9569994) was seized by Iran last Friday as it sailed south of the Strait of Hormuz en route to Singapore laden with high-sulphur gasoil loaded in the port of Hamriyah in the United Arab Emirates.

Talara’sthird-party shipmanager Columbia Shipmanagement said the vessel was released at approximately 0442 hrs on November 19 “with its crew complement of 21 seafarers, all of whom are safe and in good spirits”.

The company said in an email statement to Lloyd’s List that it informed the crew’s families and confirmed that “the vessel is now free to resume normal operations”.

“We also note that no allegations were made against the vessel, her crew and the vessel’s managers and owners,” the statement added.

Talara appeared to have begun unloading its cargo in Iranian water on Tuesday, three days after it was seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

According to Vortexa director of maritime risk and intelligence Claire Jungman, satellite imagery from Tuesday shows Talara in a ship-to-ship transfer in Iranian waters near Bandar Abbas.

Statements from the IRGC published in Iranian media said that an Iranian court has ordered the seizure of the vessel, which was deemed to be carrying “unauthorised” cargo of 30,000 tonnes of petrochemicals. Iranian media has portrayed the hijacking as stemming from a commercial dispute.

According to the state-owned Iran Press TV, a report from the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency said an “Iranian entity was behind the illegal transportation of the petrochemical cargo by Talara”, and that the seizure was not directed at a foreign country.

The vessel was seized while sailing towards Singapore through the Gulf of Oman on November 14, after being boarded by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces that arrived by helicopter.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence Automatic Identification System data shows Talara called at Hamriyah in the UAE on October 19 and left for Singapore on November 13.