Gibraltar releases Iranian tanker with its 24 Indian crew members

Iranian tanker VLCC Grace 1 and its 24 Indian crew members have been released by Gibraltar authorities and are free to return to India.

Gibraltar: In a sign of de-escalating the existing tension between Britain and Iran, Gibraltar on Thursday released Iranian supertanker VLCC Grace 1 with its 24 Indian crew members that the US had sought to seize through legal action.

Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan tweeted, "Spoke to our High Commission @HCI_London on VLCC Grace 1. They confirmed all 24 Indian crew aboard VLCC Grace 1 have been released by Gibraltar authorities and are free to return to India."

The Supreme Court in Gibraltar had delayed a decision to release the ship after the US Department of Justice made a last-minute application to extend the vessel's detention, the Gibraltar government said earlier on Thursday.

On July 4, British Royal Marines had seized Iranian supertanker off Gibraltar over violating EU sanctions by carrying oil shipments to Syria.