Five Arrested for Selling Bunkers to Detained U.S. Vessel

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday October 21, 2013

Indian police say they have arrested five fishermen accused of selling fuel to the crew of a U.S. company's ship that was allegedly transporting weapons and ammunition illegally in Indian waters, the Hindustan Times reports.

The fishermen worked for a local shipping agent in Chennai, and sold 1,500 liters of diesel fuel to the U.S. ship, the police said.

The ship, the Seaman Guard Ohio, operated by U.S. security company AdvanFort International Inc. (AdvanFort), was detained off the coast of Tamil Nadu on October 11.

Thirty-five people, including 25 security guards, aboard the ship were arrested Friday after failing to produce documents authorizing them to carry the weapons and ammunition, according to Indian officials.

AdvanFort called the arrest of its personnel "inappropriate."

The company said in a statement issued after the ship was detained that the vessel, which supports its counter-piracy guards in their operations, entered the Indian port of Tuticorin to escape the effects of Typhoon Phailin and that the guards' rifles and ammunition were properly registered and licensed.

Regarding the transfer of fuel, the company also argues that it may have been "the victim" of local violations of the Essential Commodities Act and promised to cooperate with authorities to identify and prosecute "improperly involved culprits."

Ship & Bunker News Team
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