Indian crew of seized merchant ship granted consular access by Iran, may be freed soon

New Delhi, April 27

Two weeks after Iran seized Portuguese-flagged merchant vessel MSC Aries and its 25 crew members, among them 17 Indians, the West Asian nation said it was allowing consular services to the crew, raising hopes for their early release and extradition.

The developments emerged after Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian had a telephonic conversation with his Portuguese counterpart Paulo Rangel. The details of the talks were released by the Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry. Ann Tessa Joseph, the sole woman cadet among the 17 Indian crew members, was released on April 18 following “concerted efforts” by the Indian mission in Tehran. “Amirabdollahian touched on the issue. We (will) seriously consider the release of the ship’s crew as a humanitarian issue and we have announced to their ambassadors in Tehran their access to consular services, release and extradition,” the Iranian statement said.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard on April 13 seized the Israeli-affiliated, Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries, a container ship, near the Strait of Hormuz as a result of a series of attacks between Iran and Israel.

Earlier on Thursday, in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said there were “certain technicalities involved” in the return of the remaining 16 Indian crew members. He had also said that the 16 Indians were in “good” health. — TNS

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