At a public sitting held today, the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea formed to deal with The M/T “Heroic Idun” (No. 2) Case (Marshall Islands/Equatorial Guinea) delivered its Judgment. The Judgment was read by Judge Hoffmann, President of the Special Chamber.
The dispute concerns the lawfulness of the arrest and detention of the M/T “Heroic Idun” and its crew by Equatorial Guinea. The M/T “Heroic Idun” is a very large crude carrier flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. On 12 August 2022, while the vessel was drifting in the exclusive economic zone of São Tomé and Príncipe, it was approached by an Equatoguinean naval vessel, ordered to stop its engines and told to follow it to a port in Equatorial Guinea; the Equatoguinean naval vessel announced that it had received “orders to shoot” in case of any “suspect operation”. Prior to that, Equatorial Guinea had received messages and communications from Nigerian authorities requesting Equatorial Guinea to “track and arrest the vessel” and stating that it had been “involved in the illegal entry into [Nigeria’s] territorial waters to load crude oil without proper approval”. The M/T “Heroic Idun” arrived at Luba anchorage in Equatorial Guinea on 13 August 2022, where it remained detained until 11 November 2022. On 14 August 2022, Equatoguinean authorities boarded and inspected the M/T “Heroic Idun” and, on the same day, a part of the crew was transferred to a facility in Malabo, while the other crew members remained on the vessel. On 23 September 2022, Equatoguinean authorities imposed a fine (“the Fine”) on the Master of the M/T “Heroic Idun”, which was paid by the owners of the vessel on 4 October 2022. On 11 November 2022, the vessel and crew were transferred to Nigeria, where they remained detained and were eventually released by the Nigerian authorities on 27 May 2023. The M/T “Heroic Idun” then sailed to South Africa, where it arrived on 7 June 2023, and from there it sailed to the United Arab Emirates, where it underwent inspection and repairs from 2 to 6 July 2023.
Specifically, the Special Chamber awards the Marshall Islands compensation in the amount of EUR 2,000,132, corresponding to the amount incurred by the owners of the M/T “Heroic Idun” in payment of the unlawful Fine imposed by Equatorial Guinea; USD 276,296.99 for correspondent costs and medical costs to assist the crew during the 92-day period of detention in Equatorial Guinea ; USD 265,973.47 for additional salary paid to the crew of the M/T “Heroic Idun” during the 92-day period of detention; USD 5,683.21 for travel costs; USD 939,334.56 for bunker expenses incurred by the M/T “Heroic Idun” during the 92-day period of detention; USD 75,295.88 for agency and port fees during the 92-day period of detention; USD 54,000 for expenses incurred as a result of the increased war risk premium ; USD 5,900,000 for loss of hire; USD 100,000 for the costs of repatriating the crew of the M/T “Heroic Idun” following their release and putting in place a replacement crew; USD 300,000 for drydocking and repairs incurred by the M/T “Heroic Idun”; and USD 4,186,000 for non-material damage suffered by the crew of the M/T “Heroic Idun”. The Special Chamber also awards interest on the claims found to be compensable.