Iran releases seized South Korean tanker: Seoul foreign ministry

South Korean-flagged tanker 'Hankuk Chemi' departing the Iranian port of Rajai near Bandar Abbas.

Iran on Friday released a South Korean-flagged tanker it seized amid a dispute over billions in frozen oil funds, and the vessel's captain, the foreign ministry in Seoul said. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the Hankuk Chemi and its multinational crew of 20 sailors in January, but South Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement that its detention had been lifted and ‘the ship departed safely today’. Ship-tracking websites showed the 147-metre-long (482-foot) vessel under way at 9 knots and heading for the Strait of Hormuz. At the time of the seizure Tehran said the vessel was carrying 7,200 tons of ‘oil chemical products’ and accused it of ‘repeated infringement of maritime environmental laws’.