Released British tanker arrives in Dubai

A British-flagged oil tanker has reached Dubai after the ship and its crew were released by Iran following a 10-week detention.

British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero.

British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero. Source: AFP

The British-flagged Stena Impero tanker has arrived at Dubai's Port Rashid after sailing out of Iranian waters, according to Refintiv shipping data.

The oil tanker was detained in July during a row with Britain that has stoked tensions in the Gulf.

The Stena Impero left Iran's Bandar Abbas port on Friday morning local time bound for Dubai, where the crew will be repatriated, the vessel's Swedish operator Stena Bulk said, after being detained for 10 weeks.
The UK-flagged tanker was seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital regional shipping channel.
The UK-flagged tanker was seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital regional shipping channel. Source: Getty Images Europe
The ship was seized by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in the Strait of Hormuz for alleged marine violations two weeks after Britain detained an Iranian tanker off the territory of Gibraltar.

The Iranian ship was released in August.

Stena Bulk chief executive Erik Hanell confirmed the Stena Impero had reached international waters, adding the ship's master reported that all crew members "are safe and in high spirits following release".
He said the crew would receive medical checks and be debriefed in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, on the opposite side of the Gulf, before travelling home to their families.

Seven of the 23 crew were freed earlier this month.

The ship's seizure ratcheted up tension after attacks in May and June on other merchant vessels in Gulf waters, which the US blamed on Iran, a charge Tehran denied.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday the detention order had been lifted but the investigation continued.

Stena Bulk said on Wednesday it was not in negotiations with Iran and said it was not aware of any formal charges against the crew or the company.


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