By Kruah Thompson
MONROVIA, August 5, 2026 – The Government of Liberia has requested assistance from regional maritime partners to track and intercept a vessel of interest after the Liberia Coast Guard said it lacked the operational capacity to pursue the vessel into deeper waters.
Authorities say the vessel is to be intercepted and escorted ashore for inspection as part of an ongoing investigation into what the government has described as suspicious activities within Liberia’s territorial waters.
Information Minister Jerolinmek Matthew Piah disclosed Tuesday during the Ministry of Information’s regular press briefing that the government received a detailed briefing from the Ministry of National Defense and the Armed Forces of Liberia High Command regarding the vessel’s movements.
According to Piah, the Ministry of National Defense received a communication on July 18 from Agon Kruah, who was recently dismissed from his position at Roberts International Airport, on behalf of an individual identified as Adi Alamtu.
The communication concerned a vessel identified as IB Atlantic IV MORONI, which was reportedly anchored at coordinates provided to the authorities.
According to the minister, the communication stated that the vessel was experiencing mechanical problems, including critically low engine lubricating oil, and urgently required fresh water, food supplies, and engine oil because it could no longer safely continue its voyage.
The message further indicated that arrangements had been made for a service vessel to deliver the supplies but requested an escort from the Liberia Coast Guard because the service vessel lacked the navigational capacity to complete the mission independently.
Piah said the Coast Guard treated the communication as a notification from the vessel’s reported local agent, Madrid and Company Incorporated, and immediately conducted an assessment.
The assessment established that the vessel was initially located in Sierra Leonean territorial waters, preventing Liberian authorities from intervening without authorization from Sierra Leone.
However, the Coast Guard also found the vessel’s movements and activities suspicious and subsequently classified it as a vessel of interest, initiating enhanced monitoring while coordinating with regional maritime partners beginning August 1.
According to Piah, the Coast Guard’s Maritime Operations Center later detected that the vessel crossed from Sierra Leonean waters into Liberian territorial waters on Sunday, August 2.
He said a patrol operation was immediately launched to intercept the vessel, but as Coast Guard personnel approached, the vessel continued moving farther into deeper waters, beyond the operational range of Liberia’s current patrol assets.
“Somebody reports that a vessel is in distress, and as the Coast Guard moves to provide assistance, the vessel begins moving away instead of waiting to be rescued,” Piah said. “That naturally raises suspicion.”
Despite moving farther offshore, the minister said the vessel remains within Liberia’s territorial waters.
He disclosed that Liberia has since activated regional maritime security cooperation mechanisms and requested assistance from neighboring partners to help track and intercept the vessel.
According to Piah, regional partners have responded positively, and support is being mobilized to assist Liberian authorities in compelling the vessel to return for inspection.
The minister also revealed that a smaller vessel believed to have been assigned to deliver supplies had established contact with those aboard the vessel of interest.
Three individuals associated with the smaller vessel are currently in government custody and have been questioned as part of the ongoing investigation, he said.
“That vessel will be pursued, brought to our shores, and we will determine what it contains and why it remained in Sierra Leonean territorial waters for such a prolonged period,” Piah stated.
He said the timeline of the vessel’s movements, from the initial notification through its entry into Liberian waters, has heightened government concerns that its activities may not have been routine.
Piah said the government is working with regional and international maritime partners to ensure the vessel is intercepted and the circumstances surrounding its activities are fully investigated.
