By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Azerbaijan has officially lodged a complaint with Eritrean authorities, protesting the detention of three Azerbaijani-flagged vessels and their crews since November 2024, the spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Ayxan Hajizada, said on Wednesday.
Reuters quoted Hajizada as saying that the three vessels, carrying a total of 18 crew members—all Azerbaijani citizens—were detained on 7 November after entering Eritrean waters in northeastern Africa due to extreme weather conditions while en route to Abu Dhabi via the Suez Canal.
Reports indicate that the vessels, CMS Pahlian, CMS İgid, and CMS-3, are operated by the Azerbaijani branch of Caspian Marine Services B.V., which has since contacted Eritrean authorities.
Azerbaijan claims the vessels have been stranded for nearly two months without sufficient food and are effectively being held hostage.
Upon learning of the detention, Azerbaijan sent a diplomatic note to Eritrea through its embassies in Ethiopia and Russia, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Corroborating Hajizada’s statement, Parvana Imanova, head of the press service for the State Maritime and Port Agency of Azerbaijan, said Eritrean authorities have received formal letters requesting the release of the vessels and their crews.
“The agency immediately informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an operational manner. We also sent official letters to the authorised body of the state of Eritrea in the field of maritime transport, as well as to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the permanent representative of Eritrea to the IMO, and the embassy in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,” Imanova said.
“Work is ongoing to resolve the issue, release the vessels and crews, and provide the necessary consular and legal assistance,” Hajizada added.
As of now, it remains unclear when the protest was sent, and Eritrean authorities have yet to provide an official response.
