The Nigerian Navy has arrested a vessel named MV BLU-SHARK, which reportedly escaped from Port Gentil Gabon on 2nd May 2024 at about 11: 35pm without obtaining necessary Customs clearance documents from the Gabonese maritime, judicial and customs authorities.
A statement by the Director of Information, Commodore Augustine Adams-Aliu, stated that the arrest followed an alert message on May 2, 2024, by the Multinational Maritime Co-ordination Center, Zone D, for a search and possible arrest of the vessel with IMO number 8767783.
Adams-Aliu said following the alert, the Nigerian Navy using her Maritime Domain Awareness facilities vectored Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) OSE to intercept and arrest the vessel.
“NNS OSE successfully arrested the vessel at about 1152hours on 6 May 2024 at Latitude 040 49 929’E, Longitude 008017 602’E, off Calabar waters.
“The arrest of MV BLUE-SHARK is part of existing collaborative efforts between regional maritime security agencies in the Gulf of Guinea under the Yaoundé Code of Conduct on Maritime Security in the region,” he said.