PORTUGUESE authorities celebrated after Iran freed more crew members from MSC Aries, a cargo vessel Iranian authorities said has ties to Israel.
MSC Aries was sailing in international waters around the Strait of Hormuz when members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized the vessel on April 13.
A total of 25 crew members, of which 17 are Indians, were onboard the Portuguese-flagged cargo ship when it was seized.
One female Indian crew named Ann Tessa Joseph was released on April 18.
Seven more seafarers were released on Thursday on humanitarian grounds which included five Indians, one Filipino, and one from Estonia.
The Estonian crew was the only European seafarer onboard.
The Portuguese government welcomed the development but demanded the release of the remaining crew members.
Iran initially announced the ship was targeted due to its connections to Israel, but Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian later said that the ship had turned off its transponders in Iranian waters which endangered the security of navigation.
The vessel was seized amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel.
