Strengthening rights on crew mistreatment in International Shipping News 20/06/2026 O n May 27, 2026, a Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delivered its judgment in The M/T Heroic Idun (No. 2) Case (Marshall Islands v. Equatorial Guinea), ruling in favour of the Marshall Islands. The Special Chamber awarded €2,000,132 ($2,322,000), representing the fine imposed on the master, and more than $12 million in damages, including $5.9 million for loss of hire and just under $4.2 million for non-material damage suffered by the crew. It is the highest award ever made by ITLOS. The decision is of considerable significance to shipowners, flag states, charterers, and the wider maritime industry. It addresses head-on the limits of anti-piracy enforcement powers under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the sanctity of freedom of navigation and exclusive flag state jurisdiction, and cautions states against the detention of crews without legitimate grounds. The Heroic Idun is a very large crude carrier flying the flag of the Marshall Islands, owned by Idun Maritime Ltd and managed by OSM Ship Management AS. On August 7, 2022, the vessel arrived near the Akpo Offshore Terminal in Nigeria’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to load crude oil but the requisite authorisations were not in place and so the master moved to a waiting position while charterers arranged for the loading papers. On the evening of August 8, 2022, the vessel was approached by a small craft whose AIS was turned off, causing concern among the crew that it could be a pirate vessel; the master declined to follow its instructions and proceeded further offshore. In the event it transpired that the small craft was a Nigerian navy vessel, the NNS Gongola. The vessel subsequently drifted into the EEZ of São Tomé and Príncipe awaiting clearances. On August 10, 2022, Nigerian authorities sent WhatsApp messages and a note verbale to Equatorial Guinea, stati