Capt Adewale Ishola (Master Mariner)
They shouldn't have released the ship because investigations have not been concluded, the only consolation now is that the world is a global village and the ship cannot run away, anywhere the vessel is, they can still effect her arrest. Carrying out further investigation does not rest only on NIMASA, but on the Federal Ministry of Transport, they are supposed to set up a marine board of inquiry which will assist the preliminary investigation by NIMASA, the report will now be sent to IMO, but if these things are not done, it means we are disobeying international law, it is unfortunate because it will be on our records and it will be against us, the incident happened on our waters. The flag administration of the MT Elixir will also be expecting a report from us; if we don't do this, then it means we don't have a good flag administration.
Capt. Deji Abegunde (Ship owner)
What I will tell you is that NIMASA has gone out of its boundary by allowing that MT Elixir to sail, NIMASA supposed to conduct its investigations? and hand over the vessel to the marine police, the vessel must be anchored at a place where a surveyor could go on board and not far away on the high seas. But NIMASA has shielded this vessel from being investigated, they are now standing as it they are the judge and the Supreme Court that can give all verdict. Let's forget about the criminal aspect of it, what if the two shipowners want to resolve and settle and they don't reach an agreement, how will NIMASA get the vessel back to Nigeria? They are not supposed to add the work of the Navy, the Courts, the Police and the Customs to their own work.
Olumide Oyewole (Lawyer)
Definitely, we are not in support of the release of the vessel, these crew on board died and there was no compensation, the ship sank, there was no compensation, NIMASA did not do any investigation; they just released the vessel contrary to the provisions of the law and the promises made by the DG of NIMASA. Releasing the vessel means that a lot has gone under. No investigation up till now, no search and rescue, they just concluded on their own that MT Elixir was not at fault, so those who died are gone. We opened discussions with the other vessel, but we have not reached any agreement before NIMASA allowed the vessel to sail.
Capt Thomas Kemewereigha (ILO inspector, trainer)
?NIMASA has no right to release the vessel, releasing that vessel will make us run into problems, incidentally the chief engineer who is missing is my cousin, what we have always been concerned about is the welfare of the crew on board the MT Tank. Nigeria has ratified the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 which is an ILO instrument, and Nigerian crews working on a Tanzanian flagged vessel in Nigeria are now dead, as far as NIMASA is concerned they are the custodian, they need not only bring the two lawyers to start discussing with the deceased families, they should represent the interest of Nigerians, they should act according to international conventions which we are signatory to, ratified and domesticated.
Comrade Julius Eforkpo (Secretary Merchant Navy)
I don't believe that NIMASA can do such a thing to allow MT Elixir to sail out without completion of the investigation. If truly that NIMASA has not completed the investigations surrounding the accident and the vessel in question, then I will say something must be wrong somewhere for the agency to allow the vessel to leave just like that
Chris Sadoh (SMA)
I think the regulatory agency; which is NIMASA should come out and tell the world why it allowed MT Elixir to sail out of the country despite the circumstances surrounding the accident. People died in the process, the other vessel was destroyed and above all it was too sudden for NIMASA to allow the vessel to sail out just like that without concrete reasons given to the public. For us to concord that NIMASA did the right thing, then it needs to bring IMO into the picture why Elixir sailed out of Nigeria. We hope and pray that NIMASA understands what it’s doing as the regulatory body.
Barrister Osuala Nwagbara (Maritime Lawyer)
I don't know the reason why the other vessel should be allowed to sail out, but I think that the agency has an obligation to report the matter to IMO and then proper investigation should have been conducted before allowing the vessel to sail out of our territorial waters. I don't know if NIMASA carried out the necessary investigations but it ought to take certain steps. If you say a vessel is on innocent passage in the area you control or area under your territorial supervision is not enough to allow the vessel to go and there must have been some certain occurrence and the need for enquiry to prevent future occurrence; particularly in that area where such incident occurred because normally when a collision occurs between two vessels, liabilities have to be determined as to who was at fault in order to apportion liability and a lot might have crop up surrounding the accident. As a regulatory agency, NIMASA is supposed to detain the vessel, ascertain what went wrong; depending on the level of accident because they ought to be a board of enquiry to find out what actually went wrong.
Kolawole Idowu (Owner MT Tank)
NIMASA was wrong to have let MT Elixir sail out. Nine lives were lost and they owe it to us to have conducted a proper investigation and also involve other enforcement agencies. No where in the entire world that this would happen without getting the Police to investigate the accident.
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