Iran frees South Korean vessel, captain after 3 months

TEHRAN

Iran released a South Korean oil tanker and its captain on Friday, three months after “completion of an investigation into the case.”

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh Friday told reporters in the capital Tehran that the vessel had been released following the completion of an investigation into the case and at the request of the South Korean government.

Iranian authorities had earlier this week announced that the seized ship Hankuk Chemi and its captain would be released, three months after it was taken into custody by Iran’s revolutionary corps (IRGC) for alleged violation of maritime environmental laws.

The tanker carrying 7,200 tons of ethanol was sailing from Saudi Arabia’s port of Al-Jubail to South Korea via the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when it was intercepted by IRGC naval forces on January 4 at the request of Iran’s Ports and Shipping Authority, officials said.

The incident escalated tensions between Iran and South Korea and talks between the two sides failed to produce a breakthrough for many weeks, including during the visit of South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Jong-Kun to Tehran in January.

Iran, in turn, pressed Koreans to release over $7 billion worth of Iranian frozen assets in the country, a sticking point that has led to deep fractures in their bilateral relations in recent years.

While South Korean officials said the seizure of the vessel amounted to "hostage-taking," Iranian officials maintained that the issue “should not be politicized”.

After weeks of negotiations, other members of the crew were released by Tehran in February, while it continued to hold the vessel and its captain.

The Foreign Ministry in Seoul later said all of the crew members, including the captain, are safe and sound, and they left the port near Bandar Abbas on Iran's southern coast early Friday morning, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Seoul has also closely consulted about the frozen funds with the US and European partners, the countries that are undergoing negotiations with Tehran to restore a 2015 nuclear deal aimed at limiting Iran's nuclear activities, the agency quoted South Korean Foreign Ministry official as saying.

"If the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] talks move forward, we think that it could have a positive effect on the frozen funds issue," he said.

* Islamuddin Sajid added to the report