Nigerian authorities have arrested a Precious Shipping bulker as part of a probe into a drugs find on board.
All 22 Thai crew members on the 56,500-dwt Chayanee Naree (built 2012) have also been arrested, but no charges have yet been filed.
A total of 32.9 kg of unspecified narcotics were discovered in a hold on 13 October in Lagos.
Other drugs had previously been found at the load port of Santos in Brazil in September, but the vessel and crew were cleared to sail to Nigeria.
Precious has now revealed that on 28 October, the company's lawyers obtained a court ruling granting them unconditional and unrestricted access to its seafarers.
The lawyers tried to meet the crew members on 29 and 30 October, but were denied access by the authorities.
"However, we are in the process of ensuring that our lawyers have access to the crew members as per the court order as soon as possible," Precious said.
The cargo discharge at Lagos was completed on 29 October.
Interim arrest order
On the same day, a Nigerian court ordered an interim attachment of the bulker and remanded the 22 seafarers in custody, as well as seven other people unconnected to Precious.
The arrest will be for an initial period of 14 days while investigations by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency continue.
"The impact to the company from this temporary detention is loss of business opportunity during the detention period. However, we are working closely with our insurance company and legal counsel in order to resolve this case as early as possible," Precious added.
On 29 October, the shipowner also received a claim of about $3.9m from the cargo receiver, mainly due to the delay in the discharge that resulted from a directive by local law enforcement.
The company is working with its lawyers to defend this claim.
"While we continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities in their investigations, we are also making sure, to the extent possible, that the vessel and/or the crew members are released as soon as possible," Precious said.
The vessel owner has denied any links to the drugs.
The ship had loaded 46,000 tons of raw sugar in Santos for discharge in Nigeria on a voyage charter to an unnamed European company.
