Iran will free seven crew members of the detained British-flagged tanker Stena Impero, Iranian state television reported on Wednesday, although the vessel's owner said it had yet to receive any official confirmation of the release date.
The Swedish-owned Stena Impero was detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guards on July 19 in the Strait of Hormuz waterway for alleged maritime violations, two weeks after Britain detained an Iranian tanker off the territory of Gibraltar. That vessel was released in August.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told state television that the seven, who include Indian citizens, were allowed to leave the tanker on humanitarian grounds and could leave Iran soon.
"We have no problem with the crew and the captain and the issue is violations that the vessel committed," Mousavi said.
The Stena Impero's 23 seafarers are of Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino nationality, the vessel's Swedish owner Stena Bulk has said.
"We are very pleased that for seven crew members their ordeal may soon be over, and they may return to their families, however, we cautiously await official confirmation of their release date," Erik Hanell, Stena Bulk's president and chief executive, said in a statement.
"We view this communication as a positive step on the way to the release of all the remaining crew, which has always been our primary concern and focus."
The company said that the remaining 16 crew members would remain on board to safely operate the vessel.
Several international merchant vessels have been attacked in the Gulf this year in incidents that have rocked world commodity trading. The US blames Iran, which denies the accusation.
Iran has denounced US efforts to set up a coalition and says that countries in the region can protect waterways and work toward signing a nonaggression pact.
On Wednesday, the Revolutionary Guards said separately that its navy detained seven trawling vessels with 24 foreign crew members near the mouth of the Persian Gulf for fishing too close to Iran's coast and other violations, the ISNA news agency reported.
An Iranian Revolutionary Guards statement did not provide the crews' nationalities, but Iranian media have often carried reports of complaints from local fishermen about Chinese ships who are active in bottom trawling, which involves dragging a large net across the seafloor.
