· There is a plea for out -of -court settlement -DG NIMASA
The Federal Government is under intense pressure from certain quarters to release the rogue tanker; MT HEROIC IDUN , which was arrested on August 12, 2022 in Equatorial Guinea shortly after fleeing Nigerian waters; after a failed attempt to lift crude oil without clearance and also raising false alarm that it was being pursued by sea pirates.
The crew, owners and insurers of the Very Large Crude Carrier eventually lost their bid to keep the tanker out of the hands of the Nigerian Navy.
The Nigerian Navy secured the return of the ship to Nigeria for prosecution after providing evidence that it unlawfully called at an offshore facility in the nation’s EEZ.
The Navy thereafter moved the tanker from Bioko in Equatorial Guinea, where it was under arrest back to Nigerian waters, where it was moored at the Bonny Offshore Terminal.
Our correspondent gathered from the Nigerian Navy last week, that there has been a push for out-of-court settlement by the Ambassadors of the various countries of the detained crew members of the ship.
Recall that the court had in November 2022, ordered that all the 26 crew members of the vessel be remanded inside the ship until the commencement of their trial.
The 16 foreign crew members, who are citizens of Poland, India, Sri-Lanka, and Pakistan as well as 10 others were charged to court by the federal government on three counts.
The charges border on unlawful entrance into Akpo oil field in Nigeria, raising false piracy alarm to avoid arrest and an attempt to lift crude oil without clearance thereby violating sections of the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act 2019.
In a recent chat with our correspondent on an update regarding the fate of the detained crew members, the Naval spokesperson; Commodore Adedotun Olukayode Ayo-Vaughan confirmed that there has been a push for a plea bargaining, but said the process has not yet been firmed-up, this is even as he disclosed that the next court hearing has been fixed for 28th of April 2023.
He said “the case is in court, the last hearing was held on the 11th of April, and it has been adjourned to 28th of April”.
The Navy spokesperson confirmed that, “although there has been a push for plea bargaining and out-of- court settlement, a lot of Ambassadors have tried to make case for them, but it has not yet been firmed- up.
“The charges brought against them border on unlawful entrance into Akpo oil field, raising false piracy alarm to avoid arrest and an attempt to lift crude oil without clearance.
“Recall that the crew is majorly Indian and all of them are facing the charges, so that’s the position as per update on Heroic Idun” he confirmed.
Corroborating the Naval spokesperson, the Director General Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA); Dr. Bashir Jamoh in a recent chat with our correspondent also confirmed that there has been push for an out-of-court settlement, and that the process is yet to be concluded.
“We are in court and the owners came and said we want out of court settlement, but the process is yet to be firmed up. The court adjourned till 28th of this month. We will now come out with a harmonized position to settle the matter” he disclosed.
Reacting to the planned out of court settlement of the crew members in a chat with our correspondent a ship owner and member of the Nigerian Indigenous Shipowners Association (NISA); Mr Shola Olatunji in a chat with our correspondent said shipowners are not against their release noting that if they are found not culpable of the offences, the government could settle for out of court settlement.
“There is no way we can go against their release because the government would have conducted their investigations and found out that there are no infractions in what they did before they can be released, if they are culpable, of course the government cannot release them, so shipowners are not against their release”, he said.
Also speaking, the president National Association of Masters Mariners (NAMM) Capt. Tajudeen Alao agreed that the crew members should be released on plea bargaining.
He argued that seafarers should not be punished for a crime they are not guilty of, even as he stated that the Nigerian Navy should rather go after the vessel owners and stop the criminalization of the seafarers.
According to him, “We are players in international market and there is a general agreement by ILO, IMO that seafarers shouldn’t be punished for such crime
“They are not the owners of the vessels, they should go for the owners, they should not look at seafarers as criminals, they should go after the big men
“So, they can track the cargo instead of punishing seafarers and discouraging seafarers from going to the sea, which is not good, they are treating them like criminals. By now, Nigeria should have put up a standard procedure to handle this kind of matter”, he said.
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