Iranian authorities detained 18 crew members of a foreign tanker seized in the Gulf of Oman on Friday that they said was carrying 6 million litres of smuggled fuel, Iranian media reported on Saturday, citing the Hormozgan province judiciary.
The authorities said the tanker had committed multiple violations, including "ignoring stop orders, attempting to flee, (and) lacking navigation and cargo documentation" © Mena Today
Iranian authorities detained 18 crew members of a foreign tanker seized in the Gulf of Oman on Friday that they said was carrying 6 million litres of smuggled fuel, Iranian media reported on Saturday, citing the Hormozgan province judiciary.
It said those detained under the ongoing investigation include the captain of the tanker. The semi-official news agency Fars said the crew were from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The authorities said the tanker had committed multiple violations, including "ignoring stop orders, attempting to flee, (and) lacking navigation and cargo documentation".
Iran, which has some of the world's lowest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the plunge in the value of its national currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighbouring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states.
Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Dubai Newsroom
A proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters on Wednesday, in one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.
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