The oil tanker MT Maximus that was rescued from pirates last month has been handed over to its owners, represented by Rene Von-Loenen of Super Maritime Nigeria Ltd. by the Nigerian Navy.
The Saturday handover in Lagos comes on the back of yet another arrest of what the navy officials dubbed as a “key suspect” in the hijacking. The navy had arrested six men, all of Nigerian nationality, in February, and they, together with the latest suspect, will be now handed over to the police for prosecution.
“The suspects arrested would be prosecuted accordingly and the ship owners have undertaken to present crew members to come and testify if they are required in the course of investigation. The release of the vessel does not signify an end to the prosecution of the pirates that are currently under investigation. Preliminary investigations have been ongoing since February 22 in conjunction with international and civil police authorities, ” the Commander of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Beecroft, Commodore Abraham Adaji, is quoted as saying by The Nation .
According to Adaji, the two members of the ship’s crew, one Pakistani and one Indian, remain missing adding that there has been no contact with the pirates on potential ransom.
The ship, owned by UAE, was attacked by armed pirates on February 11 in the Gulf of Guinea, off Abijan, Ivory Coast. There were 18 crew members on board from India, Pakistan, China, South Korea, Sudan and Ghana when the ship was hijacked.
The pirates intended to sell the ship’s 4,700 tons of diesel fuel on the black market and had renamed the ship to MT Elvis 3.
World Maritime News Staff