The Federal High Court in Lagos was reported locally to have directed the Admiralty Marshal of Nigeria to arrest and detain tankship Ostria (IMO 9302671) until its owners provide a bank guarantee to cover the claims of NNPC Retail Ltd regarding the non-delivery of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), i.e., petroleum. It was said by the court that much of the several million litres of what was meant to be pure PMS was, in fact, water – amounting to 75% of the cargo.
In a case which the reporting at times does not make particularly clear, it appears that the tanker, its bareboat charterer, and the storage facility were alleged to have been either negligent or in breach of contract in the delivery of petroleum from a mother ship to a products terminal. The missing petrol was alleged to have been discharged to another tanker. The relevant tank was then refilled with seawater as the ship headed to Koko Federal port, according to the court.
The vessel in rem, plus Orion Marine Ltd (the bareboat charterer), and also Taurus Oil and Gas Ltd, the owners of petrol facility Taurus Storage, Koko, are named as defendants.
Justice Akintayo Aluko issued the arrest order following “Admiralty Action in Rem” proceedings initiated by NNPC Retail Ltd’s lawyer, Mike Igbokwe, who sought the vessel’s arrest.
The Ostria had been chartered by NNPC Shipping & Logistics for three months to carry petroleum products from mother vessel Northern Light to the Taurus Storage Facility at Koko in Delta State.
The suit asserted that, between the oil being discharged from the Northern Light to the Ostria, and the Ostria arriving at Koko, the oil was transferred to a vessel identified in the suit as the Garroch (claiming to be a passenger vessel called the Orion Atlantic). The Garroch does not appear in any databases, although the Orion Atlantic, a passenger ship, does, and was last recorded as also being near Lagos.
The judge also ordered the Harbour Master of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Lagos, to collect and deliver to the Admiralty Marshal or retain all trading and other certificates of the first defendant for safekeeping until the first and second defendants comply with the conditions attached to the order of arrest and detention issued by the Court.
The court further granted an order permitting either the Chief of Naval Staff to retain Nigerian naval personnel already onboard the detained vessel or to assign four of their personnel to ensure the security of it (although it has to be observed that the vocabulary used is at times not overly easy for the casual reader to understand).
Mike Igbokwe, represented the plaintiff, said in the court that counsel for the vessel and for the charterer had approached him before the proceedings regarding the possibility of engaging in settlement discussions.
2006-built, Nigeria-flagged, 25,108 gt Ostria is listed on Equasis as owned by Orion Marine Ltd of Lagos, Nigeria, and managed by Unibros Shipping Corp of Piraeus, Greece. As of February 26th it was at anchor in Lagos.
Details of the case obtained from:
https://leadership.ng/court-orders-arrest-of-vessel-for-illegal-diversion-of-12-7m-litres-of-petrol/
https://thegavel.com.ng/court-arrests-vessel-over-illegal-diversion-of-12-7m-liters-of-petrol/