On Thursday, Greek diplomatic sources reported that a Greek crew member of the tanker 'St. Nicholas' who had been seized by gunmen offshore in Iran has been released and is returning to Greece.
The release was made possible through the joint efforts of Greek Foreign Affairs Minister George Gerapetritis, the Shipping and Island Policy Ministry, and the Greek Ambassador to Tehran, Stylianos Gavriil.
The release was authorized by the Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry. The incident occurred one week ago when the Greek-owned and Marshall Island-flagged tanker was hijacked by five gunmen off the coast of Oman and taken to Bandar Abbas in Iran.
The tanker's communications system had been disabled. The youngest crew member, a trainee, has been released and flown to Athens, with the tanker manager,
Empire Navigation, expressing its satisfaction. The company has also stated that it is working towards the release of the rest of the crew, who are reportedly in good health and in contact with their families.
The Philippines' ambassador to Iran is expected to visit the ship once local procedures have been completed. According to Iranian media, the ship's cargo has been confiscated as per a court order by the Iranian Navy.
