British tanker close to docking in Dubai after 10-week detention by Iran
A British-flagged tanker, that was detained by Iran, was approaching docks in Dubai on Saturday, after a 10-week standoff that has stoked tensions along a vital global shipping route for oil.
“Finally approaching berth in Dubai right now,” Erik Hanell, the chief executive of Sweden’s Stena Bulk, which owns the ship, told Reuters in Stockholm in a text message.
“The crew are in high spirits, understandably. They will be checked by medical professionals once ashore, but the captain has informed us all are in good health,” he said.
The crew on the vessel came from India, Russia and the Philippines. Seven of the 23 crew were freed earlier this month.
The ship was seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on July 19 shortly after British forces detained an Iranian tanker off the territory of Gibraltar. The Iranian ship was released in August.
