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Stena Impero: Seized British tanker starts to leave Iran | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A British-flagged oil tanker is leaving Iran, after being held for more than two months. | |
The Stena Impero's Swedish owner, Stena Bulk, said it was on the move from the Bandar Abbas port, where it has been anchored since July. | |
The vessel was seized by Iranian troops in the Strait of Hormuz after they accused it of breaking maritime rules. | |
A detention order against it was lifted earlier this week, but officials said an investigation was still ongoing. | |
Its seizure came two weeks after an Iranian tanker was held off Gibraltar with the help of the Royal Marines. | |
That ship was suspected of violating EU sanctions on Syria, but was released in August. | |
The operation against the Stena Impero was seen as retaliation for Britain's role in helping to seize the Iranian vessel, a link Tehran denied. | |
Why was the tanker seized? | |
The Stena Impero was passing through international waters in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that connects the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, on 19 July when it was detained by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps. | |
Iran accused the vessel of colliding with a fishing boat and failing to respond to calls but the ship's owners denied there was evidence of this. | |
The UK said it deployed a Royal Navy frigate to come to the tanker's aid and warned Iranian authorities that their actions were illegal, but were unable to reach the scene in time. | |
The Stena Impero was then transported to Bandar Abbas, where it has remained anchored since. | |
Seven "non-essential" members of its crew were freed by Iran on humanitarian grounds earlier this month. Sixteen crew members - 13 Indians, two Russians and one Filipino - are thought to still be on board. | |
The tanker re-appeared on online shipping tracking websites on Friday. | |
Iranian authorities confirmed it set off for international waters at 09:00 local time (05:30 GMT). | |
The Stena Impero's release comes amid high tensions in the region. There have been a series of confrontations over tankers in the Gulf and a recent attack on Saudi oil facilities - which both the US and Saudi Arabia have blamed on Tehran. | |
Tensions between the US and Iran have escalated this year, following President Donald Trump's abandonment of a deal aimed at limiting Iran's nuclear activities. |