S. Korea: Gov't to Make Multifaceted Efforts to Release Seized Tanker

On Thursday, a South Korean delegation traveled to Iran to negotiate around an early release of the South Korean oil tanker and its crew, seized by Iran a few days ago, according to the Yonhap news agency.

The delegation is led by the director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Africa and Middle Eastern Affairs Koh Kyung-sok.

He expressed, "I plan to meet my counterpart at the Iranian foreign ministry, and will meet others through various routes if that will help efforts to address the ship's seizure."

In the same context, the South Korean foreign ministry spokesman Choi Young-sam, ministry spokesman asserted, "The government plans to make multifaceted efforts for the release of the seized MT Hankuk Chemi."

On Monday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps`s (IRGC) Navy detained a South Korean ship for contaminating the Gulf with chemicals, according to the state media.

Two companies specializing in maritime security said that Tehran had apparently seized a South Korean ship, which was now in Iranian territorial waters.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had said that an incident between the Iranian authorities and a merchant ship at the Strait of Hormuz led to the ship changing its course and entering Iranian territorial waters. UKMTO website did not disclose further details.