Singapore's Eastern Pacific Shipping has accused private Cameroonian forces and a local charterer of illegally seizing a tanker during discharging operations.
The Idan Ofer-controlled shipowner said it condemned the act of "unprovoked aggression" involving its managed 106,000-dwt Barents Sea (built 2000) by charterer DSC Marine and non-government militia personnel.
"Eastern Pacific Shipping confirms that while performing standard discharge operations, its managed aframax Barents Sea has been illegally seized by DSC Marine, a local charterer, and local Cameroonian military forces armed with AK-47 submachine guns in the Sonara refinery in Limbe.
"Eastern Pacific Shipping condemns this act of unprovoked aggression and strongly urges the Cameroonian government to enforce its security forces to safely and immediately release the vessel and the 26 crew on board in accordance with international law.
"The safe release of our crew, which includes nationals from India, Ukraine, China, Philippines and Turkey is our main priority," it added.
No injuries reported
There have been no reports of injuries.
Eastern Pacific said it was working with the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) as well as the governments of nationals on board to encourage the Cameroon government to "expedite the vessel's release."
TradeWinds reported last week that tanker market sources said a charter dispute involving the ship between Eastern Pacific and DSC Marine that briefly shut Cameroon’s only refinery had been resolved.
The issue jumped to public attention with reports in the Cameroon press that state-backed Sonara had closed the refinery due to a shortage of oil.
Eastern Pacific, which was owed a reported $850,000 in charter payments, refused to deliver the crude cargo before the charterer paid up.
The move followed a buildup of events in the months since DSC Marine chartered the tanker last August, sources explained.
This was complicated by a scheduled maintenance shutdown at the refinery, which overran and only reopened in December.
While Eastern Pacific re-let the ship for a period in the interim, it loaded crude in Nigeria in November to deliver to Cameroon under charter to DSC Marine.
By the time the ship arrived to deliver the cargo, DSC Marine was in arrears with the charter payments, resulting in what one source described as a “classic stand-off”.
