Iran | Gov’t releases seized cargo vessel

The operator of a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship seized by Iran says the vessel has been released and that the crew are all in good condition.
Rickmers Ship Management told The Associated Press in an e-mail yesterday that the MV Maersk Tigris had been released following a court order.
Iranian forces seized the vessel on April 28 after firing warning shots across its bridge as it traversed the Strait of Hormuz. It was taken to Bandar Abbas, the main port of Iran’s navy, under escort by Iranian patrol boats. The seizure stems from a legal complaint by a private Iranian company.
A day after the ship was impounded, Iran’s Foreign Ministry defended the move as legally valid, saying the vessel was seized based on a court decision.
Iran claimed that the Danish shipping company that chartered the ship, Maersk Line, owed money to an Iranian firm. Maersk had chartered the container ship from Singapore-based Rickmers Ship Management and insists it carried no “special cargo” such as military equipment.
Rickmers’ statement did not mention whether any money was paid and the company spokesman did not immediately return calls.
The incident came at a critical time in Iran’s relations with the West, as talks on Tehran’s contested nuclear program continue and frictions rise amid a U.S.-backed campaign by a Saudi-led coalition carrying out airstrikes against Iranian-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen.
Following the Maersk incident, Washington adopted a policy change, allowing any U.S.-flagged ship to be accompanied by Navy warships through the narrow strait, which includes Iranian territorial waters. Navy ships are positioned nearby and are ready to respond if needed, but they do not actually escort a vessel.
The Strait of Hormuz is the route for about a fifth of the world’s oil and is only about 33 kilometers wide at its narrowest point. AP