MT Heroic Idun incident

The MT Heroic Idun incident refers to the August 2022 to May 2023 arrest and nearly nine-month detention of the Marshall Islands-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Heroic Idun and its 26 crew members. The incident followed the vessel's unauthorized entry into Nigeria's Akpo oilfield, suspected attempted crude oil theft, and the raising of a false international piracy alarm by the crew against a Nigerian Navy vessel.

The incident began on 7–8 August 2022 when the vessel entered the restricted Akpo oilfield without approval from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). After a confrontation with the Nigerian Navy, the vessel fled to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of São Tomé and Príncipe, where it was intercepted by authorities from Equatorial Guinea on 12 August 2022 under the regional "Yaoundé Architecture" security framework.

Following a transfer to Nigerian custody in November 2022, the case was resolved in May 2023 through a plea bargain. The owners, Idun Maritime Ltd, paid $15 million in restitution and a fine, and issued a public apology for the false piracy alarm. The vessel and crew were subsequently released.

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