Ukrainian sailors held under arrest in Nigeria for one-and-a-half months

A vessel with 16 Ukrainian sailors on board was arrested on January 23. However, reports about this incident surfaced only in March.

"The Nigerian Navy, in a March 9 statement, reported the arrest of the San Padre Pio, a tanker with 16 Ukrainian sailors and about 5,000 tons of cargo aboard, for unauthorized entry into Nigeria's waters and illicit fuel trade," the report says.

Captain tanker Andriy Vaskov said that the vessel had permission from the Nigerian fleet to ship the cargo to Nigeria. According to him, this was their fifth entry into the Nigerian port with oil products.

The ship is currently on Bonny in the southeast of Nigeria.

Earlier, a Greek court sentenced Ukrainian sailor Denys Brovchenko, who transported Syrian refugees, to 180 years in prison.

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