Greek Seafarers’ Union PENEN called for the immediate release of the crew of the oil ship Niovi, seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
The seizure of an oil tanker registered in Greece by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on May 3 caused tensions in the relations between the two countries. The Greek captain and crew of the ship are being held in Iran in the incident that took place in the Strait of Hormuz after the Iranian ships were detained in Greece recently.
The government of neighboring Greece made an attempt to release the sailors on these developments. While the Ministry of Maritime Affairs followed the developments in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the unions in the capital Athens demanded that the government follow a more effective policy and take action for the release of the seafarers as soon as possible.
Union Call: Take Urgent Action
“This new event highlights the enormous dangers facing the maritime profession, the criminalization of work, and confirms that seafarers are often the victims of military, political and economic competition and conflict,” the statement said.
‘This Is Not The First’
PENEN said, “In the conditions of the imperialist war that has been going on for more than a year in Ukraine, the ships were seized by Iran in retaliation for the US’s seizure of oil cargoes, and the last Panama-flagged Niovi tanker was taken hostage.” He reminded that the sailors of the tankers Delta Poseidon, owned by the maritime company, and Prudent Warrior, owned by the Greek shipping company, Polembros Shippin Ltd., faced similar hostage-taking conditions for 4 months.
The Seafarers’ Union called for urgent action by the government and relevant ministries and departments to protect the lives of seafarers, ensure their release and safe repatriation.
What happened?
The oil tanker Niovi, owned by Smart Tankers shipping company, was seized by Iranian authorities on 3 May in the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. The 31-crew tanker was sailing unloaded after completing maintenance work that had kept it in port for the past few months when it was seized by the Revolutionary Guards. Departing from Dubai, the tanker was surrounded by naval vessels belonging to the Revolutionary Guards as it headed towards the port of Fuzairah in the United Arab Emirates. It was then transferred to the secure anchorage in Bandar Abbas.
Niovi is owned by Grand Financing Co., a subsidiary of Smart Tankers, headquartered in Piraeus and owned by D. Baku and G. Kaymenakis. Kaymenakis.
According to the Greek media, this action was carried out ‘in retaliation for the US authorities freezing Iranian crude oil’. About a week ago, Empire Navigation’s St. The tanker, Suez Rajan, owned by Molaris and allegedly carrying Iranian oil, was seized after an arrest warrant was issued upon the application of the United States.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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