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Detained Greek Ship, Crew Released in Nigeria

14_08_07 05The Greek ship Aegean Horizon and its 23-man crew, who had been held in detention in Nigeria, were released after Greek officials, including Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos and President Karolos Papoulias apppealed to the Nigerian President.

The crew was charged with illegal bunkering but after it was reported that authorities had determined their innocence, the Nigerian Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Dele Ezeoba gave the order for their release and for the ship to be allowed to leave.

The Greeks were arrested at Ibot terminal, Akwa Ibom State, with their vessel, loaded with 900,000 barrels of crude oil, during the Navy’s fleet evaluation operation, titled Exercise Farauata.

The Commanding Officer, Forward Operating Base (FOB), Bonny, Capt Chukwuma Okafor, said the vessel and the 23 crew members were arrested because they gave unsatisfactory answers on their documents. Okafor noted that after thorough investigation by Naval authorities, it was discovered that the vessel obtained relevant documents from duly-authorised Nigerian authorities.

The commanding officer then lauded the crew and Captain Ilias Kanellopoulos for their co-operation during the investigation. A representative for the ship’s owner, Gregori Esiri of Bluesea Maritime, said he was grateful for the efforts that led to the release of the ship and crew.

(Source:The Nation)

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