Iran has released a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker along with all 21 crew members just days after seizing the vessel without providing any clear reason, the ship’s management company said on Wednesday.
Tehran made no immediate public comment regarding the release of the tanker Talara, marking the first such seizure by Iran in several months. The incident occurred amid ongoing tensions in West Asia following the 12-day conflict with Israel in June and persistent concerns over Iran’s nuclear program.
Cyprus-based Columbia Shipmanagement confirmed that all crew members are “safe and well.”
“We have informed their families, and the vessel is now free to resume normal operations,” the company stated, adding that no charges were filed against the ship, its crew, or its management.
Tracking data reviewed by the Associated Press indicated that Talara was moving away from Iranian waters after its release.
Iran’s military had seized the vessel on Friday while it was transiting the strategic Hormuz Strait — a narrow passage through which nearly 20% of the world’s oil trade flows. The tanker was en route from Ajman in the United Arab Emirates to Singapore at the time of its detention.
The U.S. Navy has previously accused Iran of multiple attacks on commercial vessels in the region, including a series of tanker assaults in 2019 and a deadly drone attack on an Israeli-linked oil tanker in 2021 that killed two European crew members.
