The Commander of the NNS Pathfinder, Commodore Duja Effedu, yesterday said the command arrested a suspected six-man oil bunkering syndicate behind the various pipeline ruptures in Rivers state.
Effedua, who made this know, when he presented the suspects to newsmen, said they were arrested during a routine patrol of the Nkpodiagha Creek, Aker Base in Port Harcourt.
He said that items recovered from the suspects include a 33,000-litre capacity tanker with registration number Lagos GGE 934 XS suspected to have been used in transporting crude oil.
The Commander of the NNS Pathfinder, Commodore Duja Effedu, yesterday said the command arrested a suspected six-man oil bunkering syndicate behind the various pipeline ruptures in Rivers state.
Effedua, who made this know, when he presented the suspects to newsmen, said they were arrested during a routine patrol of the Nkpodiagha Creek, Aker Base in Port Harcourt.
He said that items recovered from the suspects include a 33,000-litre capacity tanker with registration number Lagos GGE 934 XS suspected to have been used in transporting crude oil.
The commander said the NNS had also seized two pumping machines, a long hose and two large wooden boats containing petroleum products suspected to be Automated Gasoline Oil.
He said the wooden boats were destroyed at the scene of the crime, adding that the suspects would be handed over to the police for further investigation and possible prosecution.
“The Nigerian Navy is committed and will continue in its zero tolerance policy in riding the Niger Delta of oil thieves, pipeline vandals and other criminal activities in our waterways.
“Our operations have been boosted with the vision and support of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Dele Ezeoba, to eliminate sea piracy and illegal oil bunkering,” he said.
Effedua said that through concerted efforts with other security outfits, the spate of pipeline vandalism and illegal bunkering had reduced drastically in the state.
On World Maritime Day 2013: IMO Scribe Says Maritime Transport Central To Sustainable Development 6
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) yesterday marked the 36th celebration of World Maritime Day. This year’s theme is: "Sustainable Development: IMO's contribution beyond Rio+20".
In his World Maritime Day message, IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu said that maritime transport was central to sustainable development, as the world's only really reliable, global, cost-effective and energy-efficient mass transportation method for energy, materials, foods and industrial products.
“The maritime transportation system itself must, therefore, ensure that its development is also sustainable,” Mr Sekimizu said, adding that this blanket term included not just the operation of ships, but all the activities that are vital to support shipping, such as the operation of maritime traffic management systems and global communication systems, ports and multi-modal connections are all components of this multi-faceted sector.
“Shipbuilding and classification, ship registry and administration, ship finance, ship repairing, ship recycling, the education and training of seafarers, are all part of the system – as, indeed, are search and rescue services, maritime security agencies, coast guards and maritime law enforcement agencies and many others, too. They all have a part to play in defining and achieving a sustainable Maritime Transportation System,” Mr. Sekimizu said.
“Because the Maritime Transportation System is so essential to the continued development and future growth of the world economy, IMO will continue to take the lead in supporting it with the appropriate global standards and by helping to promote, through technical co-operation, the necessary national maritime transportation policies and institutional frameworks for a sustainable Maritime Transportation System,” , the IMO scribe added.
Similarly, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also issued a message for World Maritime Day, in which he noted that this year’s World Maritime Day fell at an important time, as the United Nations was leading the final stretch of its global campaign to address human suffering through the Millennium Development Goals while shaping a vision for the post-2015 period.
“In this effort, we value maritime transport as a cost-effective and energy-efficient link in the global supply chain. Let us use this occasion to reaffirm our commitment to optimize the management of maritime transport to support sustainable development,” Mr. Ban said.
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