Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei had announced on Monday that “the legal process has finished” and the Swedish-owned vessel was free to leave.
“This morning’s satellite imagery captured by @planetlabs reveals that the #StenaImpero is NO LONGER ANCHORED at this location (27.07° N, 56.25° E),” TankerTrackers.com said on its Twitter account.
“She has been there since the second week of August.”
The British “Stena Impero” oil tanker was captured by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy on July 19 at the request of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran’s office in the province of Hormozgan for three cases of violation of maritime laws when it was passing through the high-traffic Strait of Hormuz.
The vessel was impounded at Bandar Abbas port for failing to respond to distress calls and turning off its transponder after hitting a fishing boat.
Moreover, Stena Impero had not heeded any of the warnings from the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization.
The UK oil tanker was also reportedly polluting the Persian Gulf waters heavily by dumping crude oil residue.
