Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi stated that “We don’t have any problem with crew and captain of the ship. The ship has been stopped because of it violation of laws and it is natural to detain the crew with the ship.”

The vessel was seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards on July 20. It was just two weeks after British Royal Marines detained the Grace 1 tanker carrying Iranian oil near Gibraltar. That ship was released in August.

“However, the consular status and individual permits of the crew were reviewed, and after further consideration and also for humanitarian grounds, some of the crew were allowed to leave the ship and return to daily life,” Mousavi added. 

Maritime Business World