MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines said Saturday it would ask Iran to free a Filipino crew member of a British-flagged tanker seized by Tehran's Revolutionary Guards. The Swedish-owned Stena Impero was seized in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday for colliding with a fishing boat, Iranian authorities said, as tensions mount in a key waterway for the world's oil supplies. The agency that supplied the Filipino crew member told Manila there were no reported injuries as the vessel headed for the Iranian coast on Friday, the department said in a statement. Iranian authorities said the tanker has anchored off the port of Bandar Abbas with all its 23 crew aboard. Britain said a second ship had also been seized in the Persian Gulf -- the Liberian-flagged Mesdar.

Source: Philippine Star July 20, 2019 08:15 UTC