Iranian minister of commerce announced that the three seized Iranian ships in Singapore have been released.
Iranian media report that the Commerce Minister, Mehdi Ghazanfari told the media that Iran managed to avoid putting up the ships for sale by paying out the loan.
Head of Iranian shipping had said earlier that the ships had been bought on loan from foreign banks which were now calling for full payment on the loans because Iran was not able to get appropriate insurance for them. Following the UN resolution to impose sanctions on Iran, several large insurance companies have refused to insure Iranian ships.
Today Iranian shipping officials maintained that $200 million dollars was paid to a French Bank to clear the loans on the three released ships.
Another two Iranian ships were seized in Hong Kong and Malta for which a German Bank demands immediate full payment on a $280 million loan.