One of the eighteen Filipino crew members aboard the oil tanker ST Nikolas, which was seized by Iranian authorities in January, has been released, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Philippines.
The Filipino seafarer was released on February 4, while the remaining crew members are still on the ship. DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega mentioned that the other crew members are staying voluntarily, receiving double their salary. The release of the Filipino national follows the earlier release of a Greek cadet from the oil tanker in January.
The recent talks between Iran and the Philippines have not indicated any information about the ship’s overall release, as the matter is currently with Iranian courts.
The oil tanker, originally named Suez Rajan, was seized by Iran in the Gulf of Oman on January 11 while en route from the Iraqi port of Basra to Turkey.
The incident occurred between Oman and Iran, and suspicion immediately fell on Iran. The ship had been seized by the U.S. Justice Department in a yearlong dispute involving the confiscation of 1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.
The vessel had previously gained attention in 2023 when over 980,000 barrels of Iranian crude oil it was carrying were confiscated by the United States in a sanction enforcement operation. Iran stated that the seizure of the tanker, renamed ST Nicholas, was in retaliation for the U.S. confiscation of Iran’s oil.
