Crew of tanker seized by Iran make contact, are safe, vessel manager says

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LONDON (Reuters) -The crew of an oil products tanker are safe and the vessel is anchored off Iran’s Bandar Abbas port, its manager said on Monday, after Tehran said it seized the ship in open Gulf waters last week.

Iran confirmed on Saturday that its Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) had seized the Talara, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, over alleged cargo violations, Iranian state media reported.

It was the first seizure of a tanker by Tehran since Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran in June and has raised concerns for the safety of ships sailing through those critical waters with energy cargoes for world markets.

The tanker’s captain made contact with the vessel’s technical manager at 1730 GMT on November 16, Columbia Shipmanagement said in a statement on Monday.

“All crew members are reported to be safe and accounted for. The vessel is now safely anchored off the coast of Bandar Abbas,” Columbia Shipmanagement said, adding that the crew numbered 21 seafarers.

Contact with the vessel was cut off on November 14 while it was sailing in international waters via Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, to Singapore with a cargo of high sulphur gasoil, the company said.

A U.S. official and maritime security sources had said on Friday that Iranian forces intercepted the tanker and diverted it into Iranian territorial waters.

“Columbia Shipmanagement is working with regional partners to urgently resolve the situation and secure the release of our crew,” the manager said.

Iran’s IRGC has periodically seized commercial vessels in Gulf waters in recent years, often citing maritime violations such as alleged smuggling, technical infractions or legal disputes.

Talara last reported its position on November 14, public ship tracking data on the MarineTraffic platform showed on Monday.

(Reporting by Jonathan Saul; Editing by Joe Bavier)