KUALA LUMPUR: The Foreign Ministry is in the midst of establishing the identities of a ship and its 16 Malaysian crew members detained by Iranian authorities in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, allegedly for carrying illegal fuel.
Its minister, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, said that the Malaysian Embassy in Iran is seeking more information on the matter.
“We have received some new information, but it needs to be verified. The identities of the Malaysians have yet to be ascertained.
“An official statement will be issued by Wisma Putra later,” he said.
According to foreign media outlets, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) seized a ship suspected of fuel-smuggling and arrested 16 Malaysian crew members.
The IRGC confiscated 1.3 million litres of fuel from the unnamed vessel, 15 nautical miles from Abu Musa Island. – Bernama