New Delhi, Feb 5 (UNI) India on Thursday announced that eight of the 16 Indian sailors held in Iran have been released and will return home, with consular teams closely engaged with Iranian authorities over the remaining sailors.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We’ve had consular access to the 16 sailors in Iran. Our officials in Bandar Abbas have met them. Of those 16, eight people, according to the Iranian authorities, have been released and will be returning home. With regard to the remaining eight sailors, we are in touch with the Iranian authorities. We will see how best to support them.”
Families of Indian sailors detained in Iran last December have received some relief after the crew were granted consular access and were able to speak to their loved ones for the first time in over a month.
The sailors were held after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the oil tanker MT Valiant Roar near Dibba, UAE. The crew includes 16 Indians and one each from Sri Lankan, and Bangladeshi. Of them, 10 were shifted to Bandar Abbas prison, while eight remain confined on the vessel, awaiting further formalities.
Iran has alleged that the tanker was involved in smuggling nearly 6,000 tonnes of fuel, while relatives of the crew maintain that it was carrying low-sulphur fuel oil.
Consular access was granted to the 10 sailors in prison on January 19 and to the eight on board the tanker on January 22.
Meanwhile, the Indian government held an inter-ministerial meeting on January 18, involving the Ministries of External Affairs, Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the Indian Embassy, and the Directorate General of Shipping, to coordinate efforts.
