Owners of MT Heroic Idun, which was accused of oil theft have tendered an apology to the Nigerian Government for the conduct of their vessel and the crew.
The public apology is one of the conditions that were given by Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt in Rivers state, for the release of the crew and vessel of the ship that has been detained since August 2022.
Fulfilling one of the conditions, Shipping Position Daily has exclusively confirmed that the owners of the ship tendered the public apology on Llyod List.
Recall that the bail conditions include, payment of N5 million as penalty for the charge and $15million as restitution to the country including public apologies made in the print and electronic media in Nigeria and Llyod’s list.
The public apology by the owners of the vessel on Lyods list sighted by our correspondent reads: “AT 2130hrs on August 8, 2022, the tanker Heroic Idun (IMO: 9858058) received voyage orders to approach the Akpo Terminal to load a cargo of oil. While waiting to load, the vessel was approached by what the owners now know was a Nigerian patrol vessel.
“Heroic Idun was ordered to follow the patrol vessel back to Bonny. Subsequently, this approach has been reported as what was thought at the time to be a possible piracy attack.
“The owners, on behalf of their vessel and crew, wish to publicly apologise to the Federal Government of Nigeria for that report and express their sincere regret for the difficulties presented to the navy and any embarrassment that may have resulted from this incident. At no time did the owners wish to undermine the reputation of the Nigerian navy or the efforts undertaken by the Nigerian Navy in countering piracy and oil theft in Nigerian waters.
“Following issuance of the court order on May 9, 2023, the owners are pleased that this unfortunate incident has now been resolved and are grateful for the Nigerian authorities’ assistance in reaching this conclusion.
“We look forward to being able to repatriate our crew back to their families and to successful future trading activities within Nigeria” the owners stated.
However, our correspondent could not confirm any correspondent apology in any Nigerian newspaper as at press time.
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