London: The detained Maersk Tigris will be freed within two days after a fine is paid to Iranian authorities, reports say.
“Based on the information we have acquired, it is likely that the dispute will be settled within next two days,” Marzieh Afkham, spokeswoman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry told press in Tehran today.
“This is an absolutely legal matter,” she said. “The ship has a private plaintiff and there was a lawsuit in progress against it. The vessel was seized as it entered Iran’s territorial waters.”
Maersk Line, the ship’s charterer, declined to comment when contacted by Splash today.
Maersk has said previously that it is in “dialogue” with Iranian courts, as is the vessel’s owner, Singapore-based Rickmers Shipmanagement.
The 24 crew onboard the vessel are reported to be healthy and in good spirits.
The Tigris (62,292 dwt, built 2014) was arrested following a 10-year-old legal complaint by a private Iranian company, reports say.
The ship was apprehended in the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian navy on April 28, and since then it has been at anchor off Iran’s Qeshm Island.
In the 2005 case, Maersk delivered 10 containers to Dubai but they were not claimed within 90 days and so were disposed of by the UAE authorities. The Iranian client went to court in Iran to claim for the lost cargo and the court made a $3.6m judgment in their favour.
