SEOUL: The crew of a South Korean tanker held in Iran is still on board

Seoul announced that the crew of the South Korean tanker, which Iran has held back since early January, is still on board, after Tehran announced that it had allowed the sailors to leave the ship for “humanitarian” reasons.

Revolutionary Guard forces intercepted the “Hankook Shimi” tanker and detained its crew on January 4 near the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Tehran accuses the South Korean-flagged tanker of causing marine pollution.

Seoul immediately demanded the speedy release of the ship and its twenty crew members of South Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Burmese nationalities.

The ship’s interception came as Tehran was pressuring Seoul to release billions of euros, frozen by US sanctions.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the crew had been allowed to leave the country for “humanitarian” reasons, but that the decision did not include the ship or its captain.

South Korean media reported that the partial release decision actually complicates the situation because the tanker needs to have a crew on board at all times.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the entire crew was still on board the ship, explaining that its employees were allowed to meet the sailors for the first time on Wednesday.

A statement clarified that “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is discussing with the tanker operator the landing of the crew and their return to the country and will do everything possible to obtain the release of the captain and the vessel as soon as possible.”

A representative of the shipping company DM Shipping told AFP that there was no certainty about the release of the crew. He said: “Discussions about his return continue.”

Iran was a major oil exporter to South Korea until Seoul stopped its purchases under pressure from US sanctions that were reinstated by former President Donald Trump in 2018 as part of the “maximum pressure” policy against Iran aimed at to exhaust their oil revenues. .