The Iranian-flagged tanker MT Horse, which was seized by Indonesia in January over a suspected illegal oil transfer, was released Friday, local media reported.
A court ruling last week said the vessel could leave Indonesia, while the captain would be subject to a two-year probation without any fine, according to Wisnu Pramandita, a spokesman for the Indonesian coastguard, as quoted by Reuters.
The MT Horse, belonging to the National Iranian Tanker Company that had been detained in Indonesian waters since January 24, was released on Friday. This vessel has now resumed its mission before returning to the country’s waters,
…announced Iran’s state broadcaster Seda va Sima.
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While Jakarta said it seized the MT Horse over a suspected illegal transfer of oil in Indonesian waters, Iran’s foreign ministry claimed a technical issue as cause for the detention.
Iran had seen its sales abroad deeply affected by US sanctions after former President Donald Trump withdrew the US from Iran’s nuclear deal in 2018, thus depending on black-market sales with Venezuela to keep its sales going.
However, Iran’s state-owned fleet of oil tankers routinely travels turning off their Automatic Identification System trackers to mask where they deliver their cargo.
