Iran had accused the MT Hankuk Chemi of polluting the waters in the crucial Strait of Hormuz. The Hankuk Chemi had been traveling from a petrochemicals facility in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates when armed Revolutionary Guard troops stormed the vessel in January and forced the ship to change course and travel to Iran.

of Busan, South Korea, could not be immediately reached for comment. “At the request of the owner and the Korean government, the order to release the ship was issued by the prosecutor,” Khatibzadeh was quoted as saying by the state-run IRNA news agency. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, later confirmed that Iran had released the vessel.

local time after completing an administrative process. The ministry says the Hankuk Chemi left an Iranian port at around 6 a.m. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Iran released the tanker and its captain after seizing the vessel in January. By Friday afternoon, it was off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates, having passed safely through the Strait of Hormuz. data showed the MT Hankuk Chemi leaving Bandar Abbas in the early morning hours. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.ĭUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - A South Korean oil tanker held for months by Iran amid a dispute over billions of dollars seized by Seoul was freed and sailed away early Friday, just hours ahead of further talks between Tehran and world powers over its tattered nuclear deal. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.

Northside shipit