Tehran has released seven crew members of the UK’s Stena Impero, which was detained several weeks ago due to a violation of maritime regulations, said Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi.

Confirming the news of the release of seven crew members, Mousavi said that “We don’t have any problem with crew and captain of the ship. The ship has been stopped because of its violation of laws and it is natural to detain the crew with the ship,” Mehr reported. 

“However, the consular status and individual permits of the crew were reviewed, and after further consideration and also for humanitarian grounds, some of the crew were allowed to leave the ship and return to daily life,” he added.

On July 19, IRGC detained the British-flagged ship, Stena Impero, in the Strait of Hormuz for failing to stop after hitting an Iranian fishing boat, a violation of international maritime rules.