Iran Releases Impounded Cargo Ship –Iranian Media

Iran has reported the release of the Maersk Tigris, a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship impounded last week by the Iranian Navy, Press TV has reported, citing Iranian port officials.

Press TV cites an unnamed informed source at the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization (IPMO), who told the news organization Thursday that the ship had been released.

Also on Thursday, the IPMO stated that they would soon provide details of the ship's release.

Maersk Tigris operator Ricksmers Shipmanagement has reported that it has yet to confirm that the ship has been released, the BBC explains.

Iranian Navy patrol ship personnel boarded the Maersk Tigris, which had reportedly been traveling through Iranian territorial waters in the Strait of Hormuz, on April 28, stating that the vessel had been seized on the basis of a court decision over unpaid debts to an Iranian plaintiff from March 16, 2015.

Iranian energy company Pars Talayieh had filed a lawsuit against the Maersk Line container shipping company over damages incurred over a decade ago, accusing the company of failing to deliver a cargo of containers to Jebel Ali, UAE in 2003.

Hamid Reza Jahanian, managing director of Pars Talayieh, had earlier told Fars News Agency that the ship would be released upon payment of damages to the Iranian company, amounting to $3.6 million US in compensation.