Phnom Penh: The Cambodian government through the Ministry of Mines and Energy has asserted that the dispute involving the Cambodian oil is a clash between KrisEnergy and the MT Strovolos’ management, do not involve Cambodia. Nevertheless, Cambodia wants the ship with its crew back to the kingdom, especially the 300,000 barrels of oil in it. The government has stated that lawsuits have already been filed against the ship owners, managers, captains, and factions in connection with certain offenses under Cambodian law

The Ministry says that MT Strovolos was leased by KrisEnergy to operate the “Floating Storage and Offloading of crude oil from the region Apsara Block Ain Cambodian waters”. The ship is being managed by World Tankers Management Pte Ltd. It was leased by KrisEnergy for oil storage, which has a contract with the Royal Government of Cambodia, represented by the Ministry of Mines and Energy for exploration. The Ministry has added that MT Strovolos is docked with oil production vessels to store and transfer oil to other vessels in accordance with other Cambodian laws and regulations. However, the ministry emphasized that MT Strovolos left Cambodian illegally and secretly, and continued to Indonesia, where it is currently being held.

“The Ministry of Mines and Energy is aware that KrisEnergy, the ship's owner or manager, is currently in dispute over ship fees. If this information is true, this dispute is a dispute between the two sides and does not involve Cambodia's crude oil. During the lease of the ship to KrisEnergy, the MT Strovolos was ordered by World Tankers Management Pte Ltd on the evening on 18 June 2021 to leave Cambodia at 8:00 pm to Thai with Cambodia's crude oil. The departure of the MT Strovolos took place without going through customs clearance procedures and without any permission from the Cambodian authorities, which is against Cambodian law.”

The Ministry of Mines and Energy has rejected Management Pte Ltd's claim in its press release that the MT Strovolos has no choice but to leave Cambodia for crew changes and refueling. It says, “The Ministry of Mines and Energy, as well as other competent Cambodian authorities, has never received any information from the shipowner, ship manager or any other party requesting the arrangement or permission to change the crew and refuel the ship. However, the issue of crew changes or refueling cannot be used as an excuse for the MT Strovolos to leave and take Cambodian crude oil without complying with Cambodian law.

The Cambodian government has stated that the tanker’s management never expressed willingness to return the “stolen” Cambodian oil. Now, Cambodia is asking the assistance of the Indonesian government to bring the ship back along with its crew and the oil in it, in accordance with the national laws of both countries and international law.

The Bahamian-flagged Strovolos was seized on 27 July near the island of Sumatra, just days after Interpol issued a so-called “red statement” at the request of Cambodian authorities. The oil tanker slipped out of the kingdom’s territorial waters in the Gulf of Thailand just days after KrisEnergy filed for bankruptcy in June. The Indonesian Navy had said the ship's crew of 13 Indians, 3 Bangladeshis and 3 Myanmar nationals were interrogated. The tanker was traveling from Thailand to Batam Island, but had shut down its identification system and illegally docked in Indonesian waters.