Fuel supply Maldives (FSM) has said the company is working on bringing two fuel barges to Maldives that were detained by Eritrea.

The two barges detained by Eritrea, which is off the northeast of Red Sea in African continent, are among four fuel barges commissioned by FSM to an Egyptian company in 2019. Eritrea detained the two barges for docking at the country without proper permits on 26 April 2023.

Speaking to 'One', FSM's Managing Director Mohamed Gasam said one of the barges was travelling manually due to a technical issue. The two barges docked at Eritrea due to bad weather, and the captains had communicated with the ports in Eritrea about docking there.

"The barges were docked due to an emergency. Both barges have experienced foreign captains who are aware of the permits needed to dock in a country. They tried to communicate with the ports for the permits but were unable to communicate. That's why the security forces of the nation detained the barges," Gasam said.

He stated that Foreign Ministry has been working on having the barges released back to Maldives. He added that the passengers in both the barges are in good health and will return to Maldives within 12 days once they get the permits to leave.

Gasam further added that these two new barges will be added to FSM fleet to improve fuel supplies to the islands. Each barge has a capacity of storing 250,000ltr oil, Gasam said.