South Korean foreign ministry on Monday demanded an ‘early release’
of the oil tanker seized by Iran for breaking maritime environmental laws,
reported AFP.

“The foreign ministry… is demanding an early
release of the vessel”, the ministry was quoted as saying by AFP with regard to
the incident, with the former further confirming that it has been able to
affirm the safety of the ship’s crew.

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Reportedly, the defence ministry dispatched an
anti-piracy unit to the Gulf immediately after receiving reports of the vessel
being seized by the Western Asian nation.

According to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the
vessel, South-Korea owned Hankuk Chemi, was seized due to “repeated
infringement of maritime environmental laws”, adding that the ship was headed
from Saudi Arabia’s Al Jubail port, carrying 7,200 tonnes of ‘oil chemical
products’.

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The arrested crew of the vessel included citizens
of South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Myanmar, as informed in the website of
the Royal Guards – Sepahnews.

The seizure of the vessel belonging to South Korea,
an US ally, comes to light as significantly important amidst international tensions
between the north American behemoth and Iran, with the latter recently having
commemorated the first death-anniversary of revered commander Qasem Soleimani,
who died in a US drone-strike in January, 2020.