Equatorial Guinea has detained an oil tanker capable of carrying 2 million barrels after it attempted to load in Nigeria without proper paperwork, both countries said this week.
The Nigerian navy said in a statement that the Heroic Idun, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), was attempting to load oil at the Akpo SBM on Aug. 8 without due clearance from state oil company NNPC, and that it “resisted arrest” when ordered to stop.
It was not immediately clear who was the vessel’s owner or operator. The navy named Norway’s Hunter Tankers as the owner, but the firm sold it in July and did not respond to a Reuters query about the buyer.
Equatorial Guinea’s ruling party said on Twitter its navy intercepted the ship and 25 crew on Aug. 13 for infractions “such as sailing without any identifying flag, fleeing from the Nigerian navy due to lack of documentation and consequently sailing in Equatorial Guinean waters without prior authorization.”
SOURCE: naija247news.com