Barely four days after the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) announced the arrest of an oil tanker MT Floris for allegedly carrying about over 200,000 litres of suspected illegally refined Automative Gas Oil (AGO) on board, another tanker, MT Alyarmouk was arrested last weekend in Lagos for allegedly operating illegally on Nigerian waters.
Barely four days after the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) announced the arrest of an oil tanker MT Floris for allegedly carrying about over 200,000 litres of suspected illegally refined Automative Gas Oil (AGO) on board, another tanker, MT Alyarmouk was arrested last weekend in Lagos for allegedly operating illegally on Nigerian waters.
Sources confirmed to Shipping Position Daily yesterday that MT Alyarmouk, which is flying Libyan flag, was arrested by the Nigerian Navy in a joint operation with NIMASA after the shops crew put up resistance.
Although details of the arrest were still sketchy, sources within the nation’s maritime industry confirmed over the weekend that NIMASA and Navy jointly effected the arrest of the Libyan ship.
Even though it could not be ascertained whether the ship was loaded with any petroleum product or crude oil, she is however said to have capacity for about 2.4million barrels of oil.
“At the end of the resistance, about five suspects, including the captain were rounded up on board the ship”, our source confirmed on Sunday.
Some master mariners who also confirmed the development however expressed doubt that the ship had either crude or petroleum products.
One of them specifically noted that the ship’s only offence may be the fact that she had no clearance to sail into Nigerian waters. If that is the case, it a serious enough offence”, he stated.
Our correspondent gathered that although MT Alyarmouk was arrested last weekend, she may have been on Nigerian waters, undetected since about May23 when she was expected to have sailed into Nigeria
The unlucky ship is indeed a crude oil carrier, built in 2008, with Gross Tonnage of 61342 tonne and DeadWeight of 116039 tonne.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that MT MT Floris arrested along with her captain and chief engineer; Capt Martins Odedele and Engr Alex Ebinum respectively and nine other crew.
According to NIMASA, during questioning, Capt Odedele had confirmed the illegality of the transaction, but he reportedly claimed that he was an emergency captain and so was unaware of the illegality of the trip until he got to the location.
The captain who said the vessel is owned by Jowal Dreams Marine Limited also confirmed that it was the owner of the company, one Joshua Adewale that sent them on the mission.
The agency had also revealed that further investigations confirmed that the product was loaded at Akassa, a community near Brass in Bayelsa State, known notoriously for providing covers and opportunities for owners and operators of illegal refining facilities.
Shipping Position Daily also confirmed that, just as in the case of MT Floris, who were whisked away to the Naval base in Apapa for questioning, the five persons who were arrested over the weekend on the Libyan tanker are already in the custody of naval authourities.
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