pic: newyorker.com
The Swedish shipping company Stena Bulk finally got in touch with the crew of its ship, Stena Impero, which was taken over by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz last week. The 23-man crew, who are of Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino origin, report that they are in good physical health, though under a lot of psychological stress.
The Swedish government may also be under a certain amount of stress as pressure grows for them to take a stand as to whether or not they will partake in a collaborative security effort in the Strait of Hormuz, helping to guarantee the safe transit of ships through one of the busiest and most economically important seaways in the world.
Jeremy Hunt, the UK’s Foreign Minister, has floated the idea of a common European (not NATO) defense of the seaway, to which Denmark, France, Italy and the Netherlands have responded positively. Here, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström’s spokesperson says Sweden hasn’t been formally asked to participate. By this, they are able to avoid committing to a yes, or a no. It doesn’t help the UK’s case that they are essentially asking for help in defending the unharrassed passage of oil tankers. Oil tankers don’t exactly have a lot of likes in Sweden. As the Swedish government is a coalition that includes the Swedish Green Party, it likely doesn’t jibe well.
The larger issue is of course to what degree Sweden is willing to stand up in some sort of military cooperation with its neighbours. Just recently, Sweden signed an agreement to look into the posiblility of developing fighter jets together with Great Britain (). But, in case you didn’t get it the first time, it was an agreement just to look into the possibility of working together. Aligning itself militarily with one part or another isn’t something Sweden does easily.
Everyone knows Peter Hultqvist, Minister for Defense, and Margot Wallström don’t row the same boat, and this recent non-request by the UK falls under the purview of the Foreign Ministry when it comes to a dialog.