The deadlock over detention of an Indian oil tanker by Iranian authorities at Bandar Abbas port failed to resolve with virtually no progress on the issue even as it entered the 14th day on Sunday.
“Unfortunately the status remains the same even as various Government machinery including the Indian Embassy in Tehran, Ministries of Shipping and External Affairs are trying to resolve the issue. Efforts are on for the release of the vessel and officials are trying to convince the Iranian authorities that no pollution was caused by it,” a Shipping Ministry official told the news agency.
A top official of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) also said that “Efforts are on to get the ship released. All 32 men on board it are also there besides the team which was sent to inspect the oil tanker for any pollution. MT Desh Shanti, an oil tanker belonging to the country’s largest ocean liner SCI was detained by Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on August 12 in Persian Gulf and taken to Bandar Abbas port while carrying crude from Basrah in Iraq.