On July 19, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard stated that the Swedish-owned and British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero was seized in the Strait of Hormuz. There were 23 people in the crew.
It would take until September 27 before the ship could leave the port of Iran and embark on international waters.
- It's a huge relief. Especially for the crew but also for all of us who have worked with this for 70 days, says Stena Bulk's CEO Erik Hånell.
According to him, it has been hard work and pressure from various parties that eventually resulted in Iran agreeing to release Stena Impero.
- I know that the Foreign Ministry and the Swedish government have pressed on during the meetings that have been in New York this week, says Erik Hånell.
"Marked very clearly"According to a source at the Foreign Ministry, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven (S) and Foreign Minister Ann Linde (S) met with Iran's President Hassan Rohani in New York this week.
- Then they marked very clearly that the ship must be released and crew allowed to come home. After that it went fast. They realized that Sweden was serious and that it was a priority, says the source for SVT.
In a statement on Stena Bulk's website, CEO Erik Hånell thanks the authorities who have helped in the work to get the tanker released. In addition to the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the British Government, gratitude is also shown for the "consular visits on board from the Indian, Russian, Latvian and Philippine embassies".