Britain advises its ships to avoid the Strait of Hormuz

An archive photo of Stena Impero
An archive photo of Stena Impero

Britain We advise our ships to temporarily avoid the Strait of Hormuz after Iran has seized a British flag carrier, according to Al-Arabiya.

"We remain deeply concerned about Iran's unacceptable moves, which are a clear challenge to the international navigation," a spokeswoman for the British government said in a statement issued after a night meeting of the British government's emergency committee to discuss the crisis.

"We advised British ships to stay out ofthe area temporarily," the spokeswoman continued, adding that additionalmeetings would be held over the weekend and "we will keep in close contact withour international partners".

The British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Jeremy Hunt said on Saturday that he feared Iran had taken a "dangerous route" after seizing the oil tanker, Stena Impero.

"Yesterday's move in the Gulf sendsworrying signals that Iran may choose a dangerous route from illegal anddestabilizing behavior after the illegitimate detention of oil destined forSyria in Gibraltar," Hunt twitted.

Hunt continued, "As I said yesterday, ourresponse will be thoughtful but strong," adding: "We are trying to find a wayto resolve the issue of the tanker GRACE 1, but we will ensure the safety ofour shipment".

The Iranian Fars news agency quoted anofficial as saying on Saturday that the British carrier Stena Impero hit anIranian fishing boat and ignored the call for distress the boat launched.

The agency also quoted the official assaying that the 23 crew members of the oil tanker are currently in the port ofBandar Abbas and would remain on board until the end of an investigation.

Britain announced on Friday that Iran haddetained the oil tankers Masdar and Stena Impero, after the two vessels changedtheir direction and moved towards the Iranian coast.

Norbulk, a British navy shipping companysaid on Friday night that the Revolutionary Guard had released its ship,"Masdar", after its elements seized it for some time while sailing inthe Strait of Hormuz.

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