DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)
The owner of the U.K.-flagged ship held by Iran says it has made first contact with the crew of 23 since its seizure five days ago in the Strait of Hormuz.
Stena Bulk says in a statement Wednesday it had direct communication with the crew of the Stena Impero on Tuesday evening. The ship's master said "that everyone was safe with good cooperation with the Iranian personnel onboard."
The crew are mostly Indian, but also include Filipino, Russian and Latvian nationals. Iranian state TV aired video of the crew onboard the vessel off Iran's port of Bandar Abbas earlier this week.
Stena Bulk's CEO Erik Hanell says the company appreciates this as "a first sign that we will soon see more positive progress from the Iranian authorities."
