The deputy director of the Maritime Affairs Office of Iran’s Ports and Shipping Organization says 24 crew members of seized container ship MCS Aries are in good health and there is no need to be worried about their safety.
Ali Akbar Marzban also rejected claims by foreign media including those supported by the Zionist regime that the crew members of the Portuguese ship are held hostage.
Marzban noted that at the beginning, there were 25 crew members of MCS Aries who came from India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia and Estonia but one of them was a woman from India who was returned to her country.
He stressed that only MCS Aries has been seized, not the crew, adding the crew members are freely moving on the ship and have access to internet and telephone to speak with their families.
According to Marzban, the crew may even be visited by the diplomatic staff of their respective countries in Iran and no restrictions exist in this regard.
Marzban underlined that the surplus of the minimum number of crew on the ship may return to their countries and that their representative has been demanded to submit the official request if he wishes, and then appropriate measures will be taken.
The Special Naval Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) seized Israel-linked MCS Aries ship near the Strait of Hormuz on April 13 for violating navigation regulations.
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