A South Korean-flagged oil tanker has been detained by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for “environmental” violations, Iranian media reported. The ship had earlier been spotted off-course in the country’s waters.
Oil tanker ‘Hankuk Chemi’ was seized in the Persian Gulf due to “oil pollution and environmental hazards” and was taken to one of the country’s ports, Iranian media reported, citing sources.
The vessel was in waters off the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas as of Monday, according to ship tracking website MarineTraffic.com. It was originally traveling from Jubail in Saudi Arabia to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. The vessel is operated by the Busan-based company, DM Shipping Co.
The ship seizure comes amid already-strained relations between South Korea and Iran over Seoul freezing billions of dollars in Iranian funds due to US sanctions. The head of the Iran-South Korea Joint Chamber of Commerce, Hossein Tanhaei, was quoted by the Tehran Times on Sunday as saying that the Islamic Republic was going to negotiate its asset freeze in Seoul.
Tehran was evaluating options to “barter our money” with South Korea with “a variety of goods, including [the] Covid-19 vaccine,” Tanhaei said.
He told ILNA news agency last month that assets worth $8.5 billion had been blocked by a South Korean bank, and Iran was working to resolve the issue.
The safety of ships passing through the Gulf of Hormuz, which is vital for the global oil trade, has been among the key issues in ongoing tensions between Iran and Western countries.
In August 2020, Gibraltar police boarded the tanker ‘Grace 1’, which was suspected of smuggling oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions. The following month, Iran seized British-flagged tanker ‘Stena Impero’, which was accused of violating maritime regulations. Both vessels were released following a tense diplomatic standoff.
In 2019, the US accused Iran of bombing several tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Tehran denied any involvement in the attacks.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
