Nigeria releases detained 16 Indian sailors after 8 months long legal battle
By Aishwarya Nair | First Published May 28, 2023, 11:01 AM ISTNigeria has finally released a crew of 16 Indian sailors who were detained in Equatorial Guinea for allegedly operating on Nigerian waters and attempting to export crude oil without clearance.
Kochi: Nigeria has finally released a crew of 16 Indian sailors who were detained in Equatorial Guinea for allegedly operating on Nigerian waters and attempting to export crude oil without clearance.
After a months-long legal battle, the Nigerian court dropped all charges against them. Of the 16 Indians, three were from Kerala. Kochi natives Chief Officer Captain Sanu Jose, Milton De Coth and Kollam native V Vijith were the Keralites. Vijith is the brother of Vismaya who died by suicide following a dowry harassment case.
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According to a statement released by the sailors earlier, the Norwegian-flagged MT Heroic Idun “was arrested by the Equatorial Guinea naval ship in international waters on 12th August 2022”. The vessel had a total crew of 26 persons, and out of that, we have 16 Indians, 8 Sri Lankans, 1 Polish and 1 Filipino national onboard, the statement read.
On August 8, the ship arrived at Nigeria's APCO Offshore Terminal to load with crude oil. The crew noticed another ship approaching "Heroic Idun" while they waited for their turn. The crew attempted to stay out of the area since they believed the oncoming ship to be a pirate ship, but the Guinean Navy personnel captured the ship.
The crew of the "Heroic Idun" had previously been ordered to leave the Nigerian Exclusive Economic Zone because they lacked technical authorization from the Navy and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to fill crude oil.
Fearing that the unknown ship that had approached her may have been a pirate ship, the crew of the "Heroic Idun" sailed the vessel into international seas. Several of the guys on board the previous ship asked to look at the ship and made claims to be Navy officials. The 'Heroic Idun' also sounded a warning because it had arrived without activating the automatic identifying system. A Nigerian ship that had been following them for a time eventually withdrew.
On August 14, however, the Guinea Navy intercepted the "Heroic Idun" and captured both the ship and its crew. Additionally seized were the crew members' passports and cell phones.
The shipping company paid Guinea a sizable fee in September in exchange for the crew's release. However, the Guinean authorities handed over the ship and its crew to the Nigerian authorities rather than releasing the sailors.
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