South Korea to negotiate with Iran over seized tanker

South Korea is planning to send a government delegation to Iran to discuss the release of the chemical tanker Hankuk Chemi, which was seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) navy in the strait of Hormuz yesterday.

The delegation will be dispatched to Iran as soon as possible to resolve the situation through bilateral negotiations, the South Korean foreign ministry said today.

The seizure of the South Korean-flagged vessel will also be discussed by South Korea's deputy foreign minister when he visits Iran on a prearranged trip starting on 10 January. Those talks are due to cover the issue of around $7bn of oil debts that Iran says it is owed by South Korea for past sales.

South Korea was one of the biggest buyers of Iranian crude before halting purchases in early 2019, ahead of the expiry of waivers on US sanctions against Tehran. It imported around 280,000 b/d from Iran in January-April 2019 but has taken no Iranian crude since then.

South Korea's national security office is assessing what measures it can take in response to the incident, in conjunction with other government ministries including the defence and intelligence agencies, President Moon Jae-in's office said. Seoul yesterday dispatched its Cheonghae anti-piracy unit to the area.

The IRGC navy seized the tankerbecause of "environmental pollution" in the Mideast Gulf, according to Iran's state-owned Irna news agency. Vortexa shows that the Hankuk Chemi, a 17,427 deadweight tonne (dwt) chemical tanker, departed Jubail in Saudi Arabia on 3 January and was due to arrive at Fujairah at 18:30 local time yesterday. The last update showed it heading towards Iran's Bandar Abbas port. The tanker is fully loaded, but it is unclear what the cargo is.

The strait of Hormuz is a major shipping and trading lane connecting the Gulf with the Indian Ocean, through which around 20mn b/d of crude and oil products passes.

By Kevin Foster