Three years after, Nigeria to release Swiss-flagged ship
By Abimbola Abdullahi
Barely three years after detaining the Swiss-flagged tanker vessel for illegal entry and fuel trafficking, Nigeria has agreed to release the ship after reaching an agreement.
The Swiss foreign ministry revealed at the weekend that an agreement has been signed between the Nigerian justice minister and the Swiss ambassador to Nigeria.
The vessel, named San Padre Pio had been detained off Port Harcourt, in Rivers States January 2018, while the Swiss government has been making moves to secure the release. It had earlier appealed to an international court to order Nigeria to release the oil tanker.
Nigeria intercepted the vessel for illegally entering Nigerian waters and also accused crew members of engaging in illegal diesel trafficking. The ship’s captain denies the claims and says he had obtained all of the necessary permits.
The Swiss ministry, in a statement, said a corresponding memorandum of understanding on the immediate release of the San Padre Pio ship was signed last Thursday.
It stated that the agreement was reached following “considerable diplomatic efforts” by the foreign ministry in cooperation with the economics ministry and the finance ministry.
The oil tanker is managed by canton Vaud shipping company ABC Maritime. The firm stated that it had successfully defended itself against the accusations in the Nigerian High Court of Port Harcourt. ABC Maritime said the court ruling stated that the defendants were found not guilty as charged and were therefore discharged and acquitted.
“It is now incumbent on Nigeria to release the vessel and on the companies involved in operating the San Padre Pio to take the necessary operational measures for the actual departure of the vessel,” the ministry said.
“Once the vessel has been able to leave Nigeria’s exclusive economic zone, the legal proceeding pending before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg can be terminated,” it added.
