In what can be described as a matter of relief for India, Iran has released nine out of 12 Indians on board the ship MT Riah. The Ministry for External Affairs spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar has confirmed this development. He said, “They will be on their way to India soon.” Iran had seized the vessel claiming that it was carrying 1 million liters of smuggled fuel.
As per Iranian media, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces had ambushed the tanker with 12 Indians on board among others, on July 14. The IRCG of Iran has claimed that it had initially responded to distress calls from a ship but on searching it, they discovered that it was fuel smuggling operation and therefore, they seized it. Meanwhile, it has been reported that the US Intelligence officials are looking into what happened to the ship M/T RIAH. There has not been a current location signal for the vessel since July 7 on the ship-tracking website Marine Vessel Traffic. It also remains unclear as to who owns the ship. While initial US intelligence reports suggest that it belonged to the UAE. The UAE has said that the tanker in question was “neither owned nor operated by the UAE. It does not carry Emirati personnel, and did not emit a distress call.”
It must be noted that though 9 Indians have been released, 21 Indians still remain in Iranian detention. It includes three from MT Riah and 18 from British oil tanker Stena Impero, also seized by Iran. The latter was seized last week by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard in the Strait of Hormuz. India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar taking prompt action indicated towards the efforts of Indian Embassy in Iran towards the safe release of the crew members. He said “Team MEA is already working on the early release & repatriation of all 18 Indian crew members of Stena Impero” he also added “Our Embassy in Tehran is in constant contact with Iranian authorities to resolve this. We will keep you posted on further developments.” On Thursday, India got consular access to the 18 Indians who were on board Impero. Giving an update on the 18 Indian sailors, Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan said that Indian Embassy in Tehran has got consular access to them. He made it clear that all of them are fine and India shall push for their timely release.
Moreover, 24 Indians on board shipping vessel ‘Grace 1′ are also under detention after the vessel was seized by Gibraltar police authorities. The seizure of these vessels has taken place in the background of the rising US-Iran tensions following the reimposing of sanctions on Iran.
Indian officials have met the detained 24 Indians on board ‘Grace 1’ and have assured them that all necessary steps to ensure their release and repatriation will be taken.