Sail Bahrain crew released

Confirmation received from Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The UK Foreign Office reports that the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that the five British yachtsmen and their Volvo 60 Sail Bahrain have now been released.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband commented on the positive outcome of this situation. "I was obviously very pleased to hear earlier this morning that the five young yachtsmen have indeed been released. I’ve had confirmation that they’re now heading towards international waters on their way to Dubai. I welcome the fact that this has been dealt with in a professional and straightforward way by the Iranian authorities. As I said yesterday this is a purely consular case.

"Obviously there’s been a real ordeal for the young men and for their families and I’m really delighted that it’s over for them and that we can call the matter closed.

"I think that the Iranian authorities gave us every indication that they wanted to deal with this in a straightforward, consular way. It was never a political matter and I welcome the fact that they’ve dealt with it in this professional way."

In answer to a question about whether this incident will have affected Iran’s standing in the international community the Foreign Secretary said: "I think that this is just a straightforward matter. It’s not a political matter. I don’t believe there’s any wider significance on it. It shows that diplomacy can work."

Commenting on how the yachtsmen had been treated David Miliband added: "As far as we know the young men have been treated perfectly well. We’ll obviously be able to hear from them relatively soon. But they have now departed the island of Siri. They’re on their way to international waters and I’m sure the most important thing is that their families can be reassured that they are safe and well."

Andrew Pindar commented: We received confirmation from the Foreign Office at 0830 this morning that our sailors had been released by the Iranian authorities. We are all absolutely thrilled with the news.

It has been an extremely worrying time for all of us and particularly for the families and loved ones of those on board.

The team has sent out a boat to meet the crew, where our Team Director, Nick Crabtree is looking forward to accompanying them safely to shore.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Foreign Office and the British and Bahrain Embassies for all their help and for bringing the matter to a swift conclusion and to the Iranian authorities for their understanding.