The Supreme Court has ordered the immediate release of the crude oil aboard the FPSO Tamara Tokoni to General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL).
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, the apex court dismissed the suit filed by First Bank of Nigeria, ruling that the dispute was contractual in nature and did not fall within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court as an admiralty matter.
The five-member panel of justices allowed General Hydrocarbons’ appeal and set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, holding that the lower courts lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case as an admiralty dispute.
The Supreme Court also directed the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal and the Admiralty Marshal to hand over the crude oil aboard the FPSO Tamara Tokoni to General Hydrocarbons without delay.
The ruling overturns the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal in the legal dispute between General Hydrocarbons and First Bank of Nigeria over the crude cargo aboard the floating production storage and offloading vessel.
