Iran to release seized Swedish tanker: shipowner

The owner of the Swedish-owned tanker, which Iran owns in the Gulf, will be released.

"We were informed this morning that the Stena Impero ship will be launched in a few hours," Erik Hanell, CEO of Stena Bulk, who owned the ship, told Swedish television SVT.

Communication AFPStena Bulk spokesman Lena Alvling confirmed Hanell's remarks but said that after several hours the ship was still not released.

"We have nothing new to see," she said.

The ship was held at sea near Iran's Bandar Abbas south port.

Hanell expressed caution about the release of the tanker.

"We know that a political decision was made to release the ship," SVT said.

“We hope to be able to leave in a few hours, but we don't want to do it for granted. "We want to sail ships in Iran's territorial waters."

Iranian troops took control of Stena Impero in Britain on 19 July.

Tehran claimed that the seizure denied the seizure after a British commando seized Iranian tanker through the waters of Gibraltar on 4 July.

Gibraltar launched this ship, formerly known as Grace 1, on August 18, after receiving Iran's written assurance that it would not be heading to an EU sanctioned country from Iran.

Tehran has not made a promise to the destination of a ship carrying 2.1 million barrels of oil, and it appears to have delivered the cargo to Syria.

The European Union maintains embargoes against Syria in response to Bashar al-Assad's uprising and bloody crackdown on rebels.

Stena Impero had 23 crew members. Seven of them were released on September 4.