Indians among 23 crew members of oil tanker seized by Iran

This handout picture released on July 20, 2019, shows British-flagged tanker Stena Impero anchored in Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. - A British-flagged tanker seized by Iran is now at anchor off the port of Bandar Abbas with all its crew aboard after col

London: Indian nationals are among the 23 crew members of a British-flagged oil tanker seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz amid fresh escalation of tensions in the Gulf, according to the company which said there were no reports of any of them were injured.

The Stena Impero was seized on Friday by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, according to Iran-s semi-official Fars news agency. Iran-s seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker was allegedly due to a collision with an Iranian fishing boat.

Stena Bulk, a Swedish company which owns the vessel, said they have been unable to contact the ship, which was seized in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway in the region. "Soon after the vessel was approached by unidentified small naval craft and a helicopter during her transit of the Strait of Hormuz in international waters...the vessel suddenly deviated from her passage to Jubail and headed north towards Iran," the company said.

The vessel was in full compliance with all navigation and international regulations. Erik Hanell, President and Chief Executive, Stena Bulk, said: "There are 23 seafarers onboard of Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino nationality. There have been no reported injuries and the safety and welfare of our crew remains our primary focus.

"We are in close contact with both the UK and Swedish government authorities to resolve this situation and we are liaising closely with our seafarers- families," Hanell said.

In early July, British marines and Gibraltar police seized an Iranian tanker off the Southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

Gibraltar-s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo claimed that the ship was transporting crude oil to Syria "in violation" of the EU sanctions placed on Damascus, escalating tensions in the Gulf.

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