South Korean delegation heads to Iran over seized ship
Iranian forces detained the 20-member crew of a South Korean-flagged oil tanker that Iran's IRGC said had violated environmental protocols.
A South Korean delegation will soon depart for Iran to demand the release of a ship seized by Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf earlier this week, Yonhap reported on Wednesday.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) cited environmental concerns when it seized a South Korean-flagged oil tanker in the Persian Gulf on Monday. The MT Hankuk Chemi was transporting 7,200 tons of ethanol when it departed from the Saudi port of Al Jubail bound for Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
In a statement, the IRGC’s navy said the vessel had polluted the waters and repeatedly violated environmental protocols. The ship’s owner called the allegations “absurd.”
The MT Hankuk Chemi was then escorted to Iran’s southern port city of Bandar Abbas for “further action” and Iranian authorities arrested the ship’s 20-member crew. South Korea responded by dispatching a naval destroyer to the area and summoning the Iranian ambassador to Seoul. The South Korean Foreign Ministry has also sent a consular official based in Iran to Bandar Abbas to try to meet with the arrested crew members, Yonhap reports.
