The Nigerian Navy on Wednesday said, that the release of 26 crew members, including 15 Indians and three Malayalis, of the Very Large Crude Carrier MT Heroic Idun who had been in detention since August last year is subject to the fulfilment of all aforementioned conditions of the plea bargain to the satisfaction of the Federal High Court, noting that the online reports and stories of the release of the vessel are thus false, mischievous and misleading.
In a fresh press statement by Director of Information, Commodore AO Ayo- Vaughan, after the conviction and sentencing by the Court in line with the agreed terms, MT HEROIC IDUN and its owners are to pay fines to the Federal Government and make an apology to the Federal Republic of Nigeria in print and electronic media as well as Llyod’s list.
On its part, the Federal Government agreed not to further criminally prosecute and/or investigate the vessel, her owners, charterers or her crew in the matter of her crime against the State.
Commodore AO Ayo- Vaughan noted that an unbiased analysis of the whole MT HEROIC IDUN saga perhaps will educate mischief makers and uninformed hypocritical sympathisers that the vessel’s presence in NME on 7 August 2022 was not just suspicious but with apparent intent to commit a grave crime against the nation.
“Pertinently, it is instructive to note that MT HEROIC IDUN and her 26 foreign crew pleaded guilty and elected voluntarily to enter into a plea bargain agreement with the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as make restitution to the Federal Government. The plea bargain was in the interest of justice, the public and for public policy interest.”He stated.
He reiterated that in accordance with its statutory responsibilities and drawing strength from the strategic directives of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo CFR, the Service will sustain a posture of zero tolerance to crude oil theft and other criminal activities in Nigerian Maritime Environment, NME.
“The Navy shall continue to work in synergy with other maritime stakeholders, navies of the Gulf of Guinea states and strategic partners of Nigeria to ensure that Nigeria derives maximum benefit from its natural resources in the maritime area. No form of campaign of calumny or malicious online publications will distract the Navy from her unwavering commitment to the dutiful fulfilment of her constitutional mandate.”, ho stressed.
The Nigerian Navy had on 10 January 2023 approached the Attorney General of the Federation/ Minister of Justice over the brazen act of defiance to constituted authority as exhibited by MT HEROIC IDUN as well as the false pirate attack alarm she raised including the attempt to load crude oil without relevant approval, the ship and crew were charged to court at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt accordingly.
He said the owners of the MT HEROIC IDUN made the plea agreement after due consultations in line with Section 270 (5) (a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015. Upon the acceptance of the plea bargain, both parties agreed to the fulfilment of the conditions before any release will be made.
It may be recalled that on Friday 19 August 2022, the Naval Headquarters briefed the Press on the arrest of Motor Tanker (MT) HEROIC IDUN by the Equatorial Guinean Navy.
It was mentioned that the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) had entered the Nigerian Maritime Environment (NME) on 7 August 2022 and headed for Akpo Field without any form of authorisation or clearance.
MT HEROIC IDUN with IMO number 9858058 is registered in Marshall Island and has an overall length of 336-metres, 60 metres breadth (nearly the size of 3 football fields) and a carrying capacity of 3 million barrels.
The vessel’s Captain having duly responded to Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) GONGOLA later failed to comply with the Navy ship’s order to proceed to Bonny Anchorage to await her NNPCL papers but rather altered her course southward and proceeded at top speed towards the Nigeria/Sao Tome Joint Development Zone.
MT HEROIC IDUN also reported her encounter with NNS GONGOLA to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) as a pirate attack, but this was later refuted by IMB because it was not.
Fortunately, MT HEROIC IDUN was tracked by the Nigerian Navy’s state of the art Maritime Domain Awareness system and the ship was eventually arrested by the Equatorial Guinean authorities based a formal request by the Nigerian Navy under the Yaoundé code of conduct. The vessel was afterwards transferred back to Nigeria on 12 November 2022.
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