IRGC Releases Seized Tanker Talara From Iranian Custody

 

The tanker Talara has been released after five days in Iranian custody, along with the crew - but not the cargo, according to the operator. 

Talara was seized last Friday by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at a position in the UAE, off Khor Fakkan. After boarding by helicopter, IRGC personnel diverted the ship to the coastal waters off Bandar Abbas, a typical destination for foreign-flag ships captured by Iran. 

The IRGC has claimed responsibility, and in a statement to state media it asserted that the vessel was carrying 30,000 tonnes of petroleum products that were being transported "illegally" to Singapore. The ship is now in ballast, indicated manager Columbia Shipmanagement on Wednesday, implying that the cargo has since been removed.

The crew is safe and "in good spirits," Columbia said, and the vessel is under way. 

The nature of the dispute remains unclear. According to Columbia, the crew, ship, owner and manager were never accused of any wrongdoing while in custody. If the IRGC took any action, it would appear to be limited to the cargo. 

Writing for the Maritime Executive, a senior Mideast security expert suggested two possible reasons for the intercept: a routine smuggling bust, or a retaliatory action. 

"The first possibility is a counter-smuggling operation. Iran has long conducted 'law enforcement' operations to clamp down on oil smuggling, which Iran could classify as resource theft," said the analyst. "The second - which would irritate the IRGC, and provoke their retaliation - would have been the loss of the tanker Falcon and its valuable cargo of LPG on October 18. Falcon was loaded in Iran's Assaluyeh shipment terminal and was under way to the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Isa. TankerTrackers.com reported at the time that the MV Falcon was part of the Iranian shadow fleet and noted that it had no known insurer."

Top image: Talara (file image courtesy Cengiz Tokgoz / VesselFinder)