19 Hankuk Chemi crew members released by Iran after one month of detention

Captain remains in detention following dramatic breakthrough in behind-the-scenes discussions

Vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are in pursuit of the South Korean tanker Hankuk Chemi in the Persian Gulf on Jan. 4. (AP/Yonhap News)

Iran and South Korea reached an agreement on the release of 19 South Korean crew members on the tanker MT Hankuk Chemi, which was seized by Iran early last month. The South Korean captain and the vessel itself remain under detention.

“Following a request by the South Korean government [. . .], the crew of the Korean ship, which was detained on charges of causing environmental pollution in the Persian Gulf, have received permission to leave the country in a humanitarian move by Iran,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said on the evening of Feb. 2, as reported by Reuters.

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) also said the same day that it had “reached an agreement with Iran on the crew members’ release” after a “roughly 30-minute telephone conversation with the Iranian deputy foreign minister at 6:50 pm this evening.”

According to information released by MOFA, the Iranian government decided to take the first step of releasing all the Hankuk Chemi crew members apart from the vessel’s captain.

Including the captain, the Hankuk Chemi had a total of 20 crew members: five from South Korea, 11 from Myanmar, two from Vietnam, and two from Indonesia.

The South Korean captain was not included among those to be released. No details were shared on when the crew members would be allowed to return home or what specific agreement the Iranian and South Korean governments had reached.

The South Korean government has held several meetings with Iran to discuss the crew members’ release. First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun called on the Iranian government to “do its best to ensure that the captain and vessel, which are both supposed to remain behind, are also swiftly released from detention.”

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has pledged that the captain will receive humane treatment and sufficient consular support while judicial procedures continue, MOFA said.

On Jan. 4, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the Hankuk Chemi, a 17,426-ton South Korean tanker, and its crew in the Persian Gulf, citing the violation of marine environment laws. Since then, Iran has alluded to other aims behind the tanker’s detention, claiming that the South Korean was holding US$7 billion in Iranian crude oil export payments “hostage.”

In reference to Iran’s frozen funds, MOFA said, “We explained to Iran that our government is working quickly on the things we are capable of resolving on our own, and that we plan to pursue transparent discussions with the US on matters that require US agreement.”

By Choi Hyun-june & Kim Ji-eun, staff reporters

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