Engineer Bob Yousuo (National President, Nigerian Merchant Navy)
We are working on it. The ITF has sent a message and we are working on the modalities on their welfare and all other things. But when it comes to law, every country has its own dos and don’ts. So I cannot say that they should release them because they are part and parcel of the vessel. Every country has their own legal system, but my concern is their welfare. When we talk of the crew, the Captain is also part of the crew. So we have to know what they are doing. The Law must take its cause.
Captain Williams Ogunsakin (Master Mariner and South West Director, MESAN)
Yes, I subscribe to it. This is because in Nigeria, the crew are always the victims of these illegal activities by ship owners. If the ship owner commits a crime, they know how to get the ship owner. The crew has no power to say they are not going to Point A or Point B because they are just on board. If anybody is aware, it may be only the Captain. That is if he is even aware. I have had similar experience when I was arrested for a job I had no details about. This is a practical case of how the crew may not be guilty of the offence. Some Captains will not even tell you the full story. You may even see legal documents and you have those documents, you have no option than to work because you are there to work. They need to investigate the issue. I beg the Nigerian government in support of the international request to free the crew, but hold the ship liable. They should allow the crew because 98 percent of them might not be aware that the ship is going for an illegal business and in some cases none of the entire crew is aware. They should allow the crew members go back to their families. They are not culprit but the ship owners.
Dr. Chris Ebare (Maritime Lawyer)
First and foremost, as a chartered sea broker and maritime lawyer I have a bias for the crew. We don’t know if the manifest or document that was issued for them to load has been approved by the government. We would need to first of all authenticate the documentation with the Captain and crew of that vessel. Was it duly issued by the relevant authorities? If it was duly issued by them, then the crew should be set free immediately without any delay even with apology.
If knowingly to the Captain and the Crew that the voyage they were coming for looking at what is happening in Nigeria today in the oil industry was orchestrated by an illegal or unauthorised body, I would subscribe that the crew should even be detained the more. So in essence, i rely my submission solely on the originating document for those crew to enter our territorial water to load the crude oil products.
Captain Segun Akanbi (President of Maritime Professionals Forum)
The MT Heroic Idun’s case is seeming like an act of criminalizing seafarers. This is unacceptable. Nigerian Seafarers have been experiencing similar unlawful long detentions, undue intimidation and bully from various law enforcement agencies in Nigeria without much concerns to the general public, now they have extended same to the international trade. The aftermath of the ongoing tension could have a downturn effect on our economy if care is not taken. We can adopt a more transparent and civilized approach to diplomatic and commercial interface rather than creating an ambiguous process and subjecting seafarers to long detention.
Engr. Alalade Matthew (Former President, Merchant Navy)
I subscribe to the international community but there is no standard now for the crew to be isolated or exonerated from this bunkering crime or any other crime. The crew is to follow instructions. Only the Master of the vessel or the Chief Engineer can be privy to the owner’s intention at times but not all the time. We have been agitating with the ITF but there is no international law or legal backing that supports this. So we have not gotten any legal ground to exonerate the crew in regards to this act. Although the crew are innocent but in our own case because of the economic situation, anyone would fall into that trap of getting a job and the law enforcement agencies also wants to earn promotion. So they are there doing their work day and night. They should release the crew, but I cannot say of the Master and the top management of the ship whether they know or not. They may not know anything about it. Their own is to follow instructions but in most cases they can reject any instruction that is implicating.
Captain Tajudeen Alao (National President, Master Mariners)
When a ship is going somewhere, there will be declaration. Only the Master will declare according to the owner’s instruction. Fairly speaking, the crew are never in the know of illegal operations except the ship is designed for that purpose. If so, the ship is subject to forfeiture. But on normal operations, the crew are never culprits. But in Nigeria, things are just different. The collaboration we have at the Gulf of Guinea must have been monitoring the ship and must have informed the other authorities. The ship could be arrested and the crew detained on board, well fed and taken care of while the case against the owner goes on. The Master should only be used as evidence to testify and not as a criminal. If there are prosecution which shouldn’t take this long, then the Crew can be retained on board to give evidence in court but they should be taken care of. But the ship and the manager cannot claim ignorance.
Captain Adetayo Saliu (Chairman, Merchant Navy Shipping Zonal Council)
They have to release the seafarers. Seafarers are just employed to work. There is a charterer for that vessel who asked it to come to where it is, before it was arrested. The seafarers only obey instructions from the charterers and the owners. So why will they be the victim of the circumstance. ITF has written to us and we are doing a bit of our own too. We’re making preparations on how to go and see them on board. We need to see them, visit them and ask questions from them. Every time a ship is arrested, the seafarers suffers. They will then leave the ship owners and charterers alone to walk freely. In this issue, the seafarers should be set free.
Captain Thomas Kemewerigha
How can you arrest a crew on board a vessel for a crime committed knowing that the Master of the vessel works by directives of the principal? No Captain will move a vessel from a place to another without instructions. So if you arrest the vessel, you should not arrest the crew because the crew are only working or the arrangements and agreements of the principals which is the owner of the vessels and also where they are going to carry a cargo. If the cargo is not genuine and it’s illegal, the Master has no case. He has the instructions to pick the cargo and does not know whether the cargo is stolen or not; neither the crew too. Then why do you arrest the crew. I am in support of the crew being released immediately because they are innocent. They are on errand to make ends meet and feed their family. No vessel can enter our territorial waters without clearance from designated authorities. I am 100 percent in support of the release of the crew because they are 100 percent innocent.
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