Two oil barges from Fuel Supply Maldives (FSM) have been held in Eritrea for three weeks along with their crew.
The boats built in Egypt departed for the Maldives but entered Eritrea due to bad weather on April 26. There are four Maldivians and four Egyptians on the boats.
“They are not large boats. The crew tried to contact the Eritrean authorities but were unable to connect. They also faced issues with the boats’ auto system,” FSM managing director Mohamed Gasam stated.
“It was an emergency. But the Eritrean authorities are now holding them. They accuse the boats of docking in the country without permission.”
Map shows Eritrea and other countries near the Red Sea.
Gasam stated that the crew is in good health and that FSM has sent food packages twice. A ship from a private Maldivian company is also stranded in Eritrea with them.
“Eritrea and Maldives do not have established ties. So we are working through the foreign ministry and the embassies of nearby countries to get them released,” Gasam added.
The FSM boats that are stuck in Eritrea were built in Egypt. They were designed like a barge with a capacity of 250,000 liters.
FSM also brought two boats from Egypt to the Maldives last year. In 2019, FSM signed an agreement with an Egyptian company to manufacture boats.
