Stena concerned about welfare of crew on tanker detained by Iran

A picture taken on July 21, 2019, shows Iranian Revolutionary Guards patrolling around the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero as it's anchored off the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. - Iran warned Sunday that the fate of a UK-flagged tanker it seized in the Gulf depends on an investigation, as Britain said it was considering options in response to the standoff. Authorities impounded the Stena Impero with 23 crew members aboard off the port of Bandar Abbas after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized it Friday in the highly sensitive Strait of Hormuz. (Photo by Hasan Shirvani / MIZAN NEWS AGENCY / AFP) (Photo credit should read HASAN SHIRVANI/AFP/Getty Images)

The owner of a British tanker seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month raised concerns about the safety of the crew still on board.

“We are concerned about the potential impact a prolonged period of uncertainty will have on the welfare of both crew and their families,” Stena Bulk, the shipping unit of Sweden’s Stena AB, said in a statement Monday.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is still holding the vessel, the Stena Impero, and 23 crew members detained on July 19. The move came after U.K. forces seized an Iranian tanker near Gibraltar for allegedly violating sanctions against Syria.

The U.K. has threatened “serious consequences” if the ship and its crew are not released. In Monday’s statement, Stena Bulk said there’s no evidence to suggest the tanker breached any maritime rules or regulations.

“Our colleagues on the Stena Impero were carrying out their profession as merchant seafarers and do not deserve to be in this position,” the statement said.