On Tuesday, Erik Hanell, President and CEO, Stena Bulk said; “Despite public statements by Iranian authorities over the past three days that judicial proceedings have concluded, and the ‘Stena Impero’ is free to leave Iran, the vessel remains detained at anchor in Bandar Abbas.
“We continue to work hard to secure the release of the crew and vessel. Upon release of the vessel we will release a further statement,” he added.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said a detention order on the MR was lifted on Wednesday, but added to the confusion by saying that an investigation into the vessel was ongoing.
“The lifting of the detention order against ‘Steno Impero’ was finalised today (Wednesday), but the investigation of some of its violations and environmental damage remains open,” Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a tweet.
“The owner and captain of the ship have made a written commitment to accept the court’s decision in this regard,” he added.