Singapore: Three Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) boxships impounded in Singapore have been released. The vessels Tochal, Sahand and Sabal were put for auction by the Singapore courts in December, but the sale was put on hold at the 11th hour after IRISL paid $200m owed to French bank Credit Agricole. The company had been forced to repay the loan after UN sanctions meant the vessels had no insurance cover, breaching the terms of the loan. "After solving the problems created by Westerners, the Iranian ships which were seized in Singapore were freed a few minutes ago," Iran's Commerce Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari told the Fars news agency on Wednesday. The ships had been limbo until yesterday as although payment had been made it was being held by central banks, as part of UN sanctions against Iran. [06/01/11]
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