Iran releases seized tanker after five-day hold
Shafaq News – Tehran
On Wednesday, Iran released the Marshall Islands–flagged oil tanker Talara, five days after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) units intercepted it in the Gulf, according to the vessel’s management company.
Columbia Shipmanagement said all 21 crew members on board the Singapore-bound tanker are safe, noting that the Talara, carrying high-sulfur diesel, was seized last Friday about 20 nautical miles off the coast of Khorfakkan in the United Arab Emirates.
The operator said communications with the vessel were lost shortly after the IRGC diverted it into Iranian territorial waters on November 14. Iran confirmed the detention, saying the vessel was transporting 30,000 tons of petrochemical products.
Columbia Shipmanagement reported that the ship was freed at 04:42 local time on November 19, with no charges brought against the vessel, crew, owners, or managers. “Families have been notified, and the tanker is now free to resume normal operations."
The incident marked Iran’s first tanker detention in the Strait of Hormuz region in more than a year, following previous interdictions including a Togo-flagged vessel in July 2024 over alleged fuel smuggling and a helicopter raid on a Portuguese-flagged tanker linked to an Israeli businessman.
The Strait of Hormuz is among the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, carrying roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments and about one-third of global LNG exports.
