Despite Rs 16-cr fine, 16 Indian sailors detained in Equatorial Guinea for 3 months now

Gripped with fear of being handed over to Nigeria, 16 Indian sailors continue to be in detention in Equatorial Guinea despite paying a fine of Rs 16 crore. Three months have passed since the 16 Indian sailors being detained in this Central African country.

‘Heroic Idun’, a merchant ship, was detained in early August allegedly for not displaying the Equatorial Guinean flag. The ship, belonging to Marshal Islands that started sailing from South Africa on July 23, was supposed to load oil from Nigeria in the first week of August. The ship belonging to OSM group, a Norway-based shipping company, had 26 crew members out of which 16 were from India. This is what Sanu Jose, the Chief Officer, explained to The Federal.

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Detention of the ship

“We were given the voyage order to load cargo from Nigeria. In our experience, we know that Nigeria is one of the places with a great risk of piracy attack. Vessels being attacked by pirates are very common in this country. We reached there on August 8, waiting for a nod from the Nigerian Navy. We were informed that we have to wait till August 17. We waited at the sea. By 8 pm, a small boat approached us and introduced themselves as Nigerian Navy men. We were asked to follow them, but we were sceptical and we wanted to cross-check and rule out the possibility of piracy. We passed messages to our company and our agent (I S S Nigeria). We also sent messages to the security officers in the concerned terminal. They all expressed doubt about the boat. We were told that there is little chance for the Nigeria Navy to turn up at odd hours. Hence, we suspected a potential risk of piracy attack,” Sanu Jose told The Federal. The crew members then took the decision to escape from the area and they sailed out to international waters.

The next day, according to Sanu, they understood that the sailors who came in the boat were actually from the Nigerian Navy.  “They had become very furious with us. They alleged that we had stolen oil and the ship was taken into custody. On August 13, the Equatorial Guinea (EG) government, according to their instructions, took us to custody and inspected the ship. Though they could not find anything, we were asked to pay a heavy fine amounting to Rs 16 crore. The company readily agreed to pay the amount for our release,” Sanu said.

The fine was paid on September 28, but what happened next was not expected. The ship and the crew members were not released even after this settlement. Later they were told that they would be handed over to Nigeria for further investigation.

“It will take months, or even years, for release if it happens so,” Sanu Jose and his fellow crew members request the Indian government to intervene for release.

OSM Group statement

A statement issued by OSM Group, to which the vessel belongs, says: “Heroic Idun was ordered to load a cargo of oil in early August from the Akpa terminal in Nigeria. While waiting for the necessary clearance, the Nigerian navy approached the vessel under cover of darkness in a way which caused serious concerns and it was believed to be an attempted piracy attack. The vessel, in accordance with Best Management Practice, escaped from the area and sailed out into international waters.

“A few days later, at the request of the Nigerian navy, the vessel was interdicted in international waters by a navy vessel from Equatorial Guinea and at gun point escorted to Malabo where it has been held back since August 13 allegedly for not displaying the Equatorial Guinean flag. A fine was paid at the end of September against a promise of release of the vessel and its crew. However, both the ship and crew remain in captivity,” says the statement issued by Finn Amund Norbye, the CEO of OSM Group.

“The seafarers have been treated as criminals without any formal charges or legal process for close to four months; it is nothing short of shocking maritime injustice,” says the CEO of OSM Group in the statement released to the press.

Appeal to the public

Dashed of all hopes of release, Sanu Jose and his fellow crew members decided to take it up with the public. “We kept quiet and cooperated with them hopping that we would be released after the payment of fine. Later only we took this up with the Indian media,” says Sanu.

Out of the 26 crew members, 16 are from various states in India. In addition to Sanu Jose, there are two more persons from Kerala. The rest of the crew members belong to Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.

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Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has sent a letter to the prime minister asking for immediate intervention in the matter. He requested the prime minister “to direct the diplomatic missions in the countries concerned to proactively intervene and facilitate the immediate release of the vessel and its crew members.”