By Ed Johnson and Gregory Viscusi Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) — Five U.K. yachtsmen detained by Iranian naval forces in the Persian Gulf last week were released today, the governments in London and Tehran said. Their sailboat is being towed to international waters, where it will be met by a representative of the vessel’s owners, Sail Bahrain, the British Foreign Office said in a statement. “We can call the matter closed,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters in London. He said the five men were “safe and well” and that the Iranian authorities had behaved “professionally” after the Nov. 25 seizure. After questioning the five men, it was clear they had entered Iranian waters by mistake, Iran’s state-run Fars news agency reported today. They were freed after making the “necessary commitments,” Fars said, without elaborating. The sailors’ detention followed condemnation by countries including the U.S. and Britain of Iran’s plan to expand its nuclear program in defiance of United Nations sanctions. Miliband said in an interview with Sky News two days ago that the matter was a consular case with no link to other issues such as Iran’s nuclear program. The boat, the Kingdom of Bahrain, was seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps as it sailed to Dubai from Bahrain. The Foreign Office said in earlier statements that the boat “may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters.” Faulty Propeller Crude oil for January delivery declined as much as 56 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $77.81 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, pushed down by a report showing that U.S. supplies rose. It traded for $78.02 at 10:16 a.m. London time. After the U.K. said on Nov. 30 that the yacht had been taken by Iran, crude had advanced 1.6 percent on the exchange. Miliband spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki about the crew late yesterday, the Foreign Office said. The U.K. had repeatedly called for the men’s release. A faulty propeller may have led to the yacht inadvertently entering Iranian boundaries, said Andrew Pindar , chairman of Sail Bahrain, in a statement on the racing team’s Web site yesterday. “We are all absolutely thrilled with the news” of the men’s release, Pindar said today in an e-mailed statement. “It has been an extremely worrying time for all of us and particularly for the families and loved ones of those on board.” Pindar said the team has sent a boat to meet the crew and accompany them back to shore. He thanked officials in the U.K. and Bahrain and the Iranian authorities “for their understanding.” Strained Relations The British Broadcasting Corp. identified the sailors as Luke Porter; Oliver Smith, a 31-year-old engineer from Southampton; David Bloomer, who works as a sports broadcaster in Bahrain; Oliver Young and Sam Usher. Relations between the U.K. and Iran were strained in 2007, when Iran held 15 sailors from Britain’s forces for almost two weeks after their vessel was captured in the Gulf. British authorities said at the time that the boat was forced into Iranian waters, while Iran said the vessel was patrolling there. Three American hikers — Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal — have been detained since they crossed into Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan on July 31. Though U.S. officials said they crossed the border by mistake, they may face trial on charges of entering the country illegally and spying. To contact the reporters on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net ; Gregory Viscusi in Paris at gviscusi@bloomberg.net .
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Iran Frees Five British Yachtsmen Detained in the Persian Gulf Last Week
