Court Orders Release Of Vessel In Dispute Against Dangote Refinery, Sets $300,000 Security

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE to release the vessel MT Stena Sunshine from detention, following a dispute over an alleged illegal arrest of the ship.

The court, presided over by Justice Akintayo Aluko, granted the release of the vessel on the condition that the applicants — the vessel Stena Sunshine and its owners — provide a Letter of Undertaking (LoU) from GARD Protection & Indemnity Club, securing any verifiable claim Dangote Refinery may have, up to the sum of $300,000.

The interim order was issued in a suit marked FHC/L/CS/639/2025, with Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE, Capt. Shivkumar Sherkhane, and Rana Satendra listed as respondents.

Justice Aluko, however, declined the applicants’ request seeking to restrain Dangote Refinery and its personnel from harassing, detaining, or threatening the applicants, stating that such relief touches on the substantive issues yet to be determined.

The applicants, in their motion dated March 26, 2025, sought several reliefs, including protection from harassment and immediate release of their detained vessel upon provision of the Letter of Undertaking. They also sought leave to serve court processes on the respondents by courier services.

In response, Dangote Refinery and the other respondents filed a counter-affidavit challenging the applicants’ claims.

Ruling on the matter, Justice Aluko, after reviewing the evidence and legal arguments presented, found merit in the request for the vessel’s release, emphasizing that the provision of a $300,000 LoU, as indicated in the applicants’ letter dated April 8, 2025, would adequately secure any claims.

The court ordered that the Letter of Undertaking be formally filed before the court, while the matter was adjourned to May 27, 2025, for hearing of the substantive suit.