British tanker Stena Impero seized by Iran leaves port
British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero, which has been held by Iran since July, is on the move, reports suggest, days after Iran said it was free to leave.
Ship tracking data suggests that the vessel left the Bandar Abbas port earlier this morning.
Read more: Iran ready to release seized UK oil tanker
It comes more than two months since the oil tanker was seized by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
The Iranians took charge of the ship in the Persian Gulf just days after British Royal Marines had boarded an Iranian vessel passing through the Strait of Gibraltar.
Britain claimed that the Grace 1 – since renamed Adrian Darya 1 – was bringing oil to war-torn Syria, breaking European embargoes.
The ship was later released and has since been photographed off the coast of Syria. It has also turned off its GPS tracker. However, analysts have said the ship is sitting as low in the water as it was around Gibraltar – suggesting the Iran-flagged ship has not offloaded its oil as feared.
Yesterday the Stena’s Swedish owner said that the ship had been cleared to leave port, but was not yet released.
“At this point we are simply waiting for the guards on board to leave and for the ship to receive clearance to sail,” Stena Bulk chief executive Erik Hanell said.
The shipping routes where the Stena had been sailing, which pass through the Strait of Hormuz, are some of the most vital in the world.
Read more: Iran to set free seven crew members from captured British tanker Stena Impero
The strait is the gateway to world markets for around one-fifth of global oil supply. It has become the site of increased international tension this year after US President Donald Trump ripped up a deal designed to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons.
Since then Iran has shot down a US drone and the country has also been blamed for – though not admitted to – a series of attacks on Saudi Arabian oil refineries.