DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A South Korean oil tanker detained by Iran for months amid a multibillion-dollar dispute seized by Seoul, was released early Friday and sailed away, hours before further talks between Tehran and world powers about its shattered nuclear deal.
The data from MarineTraffic.com showed that MT Hankuk left Chemi Bandar Abbas in the early morning hours.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry said Iran had released the tanker and its captain after seizing the vessel in January. The ministry says the Hankuk Chemi left an Iranian port around 6am local time after completing an administrative process.
Iran did not immediately acknowledge that the ship had been liberated. The ship’s owner, DM Shipping Co. Ltd., from Busan, South Korea, could not be immediately reached for comment.
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The Hankuk Chemi was traveling from a petrochemical plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates when armed forces of the revolutionary guard stormed the vessel in January and forced the ship to change course and head for Iran. travel.
A photo obtained by the Iranian news agency Tasnim by AFP on January 4, 2021, shows the tanker carrying the South Korean flag being escorted by the Iran Navy or Revolutionary Guards fleet after being seized in the Gulf. (Getty Images)
Iran has accused MT Hankuk Chemi of polluting the waters in the important Strait of Hormuz. But the seizure is widely seen as an attempt to pressure Seoul to release billions of dollars in Iranian assets tied up in South Korean banks amid heavy US sanctions against Iran.
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The South Korean Foreign Ministry did not elaborate on the conditions for the ship’s release. Iran released many of its crew members in February.
South Korean news agency Yonhap, quoting an anonymous Foreign Ministry official, suggested that Seoul might pay Iran’s United Nations arrears. In January, the UN said Iran was at the top of a list of countries that owe money to the world body with a minimum bill of more than $ 16 million. If not paid, Iran could lose its right to vote under the UN Charter.
In this photo provided by the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MT Hankuk Chemi leaves the port of Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Friday, April 9, 2021. (Associated Press)
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“We expect to make significant progress in paying the UN fees,” the official said. “We have also exported about $ 30 million worth of medical equipment since resuming humanitarian trade with Iran last April.”
The development took place when Iran and world powers were to negotiate in Vienna on Friday to break the fight against US sanctions against Iran and Iranian violations of the nuclear deal. The 2015 nuclear deal, which was dropped by then-President Donald Trump three years later, offered Iran sanctions easing in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear program.
Associated Press author Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul contributed to this report.