A vessel conveying 800,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil has been intercepted by a private security contractor engaged by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC Ltd).
The Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL, Garba Muhammad, said in a statement that the cargo was intercepted on July 7, 2023, by a private security contractor engaged by the NNPCL, Messrs Tantita Security Services.
Mr Garba Muhammad, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL., said this in a statement on Monday Abuja..
He explained that the Vessel, MT TURA II, IMO number: 6620462, was owned by a Nigerian company, HOLAB MARITIME SERVICES LIMITED with Registration Number RC813311.
According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that the crude oil cargo on-board was illegally sourced from a well jacket offshore in Ondo State, Nigeria.
“There was no valid documentation for the Vessel or the Crude Oil Cargo on-board at the time of the arrest.
“Further investigation into the activities of the vessel at the NNPC Ltd. Command and Control Centre also revealed that the Vessel has been operating in stealth mode for the last 12 years.
`The last reported location of the Vessel was Tin Can Port in July 2011,’’ he said.
He further said that the details of the arrest and the outcomes of the investigations were escalated to the appropriate government authorities.
This, he said, was to destroy the Vessel to serve as a strong warning and deterrent to all those participating in such illegal activities.
According to him, destroying vessels involved in transporting stolen crude oil is of paramount importance as a strong deterrent.
“The illegal trade of stolen crude oil not only inflicts significant economic losses on Nigeria and legitimate stakeholders in the oil industry, but also perpetuates a cycle of corruption, environmental devastation, and social instability.
“NNPC Ltd. assures Nigerians that we will sustain the momentum in the war against crude oil theft until it is brought to a halt,’’ he said.
Also, the Executive Director, Technical and Operations of Tantita Security Services, Captain Warredi Enisuoh, while addressing journalists on Monday during an inspection of the intercepted vessel, anchored at Oporoza in Gbaramatu kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, stated that the ship was arrested with 13 crew members during a sting operation.
Enisuoh disclosed that the pipeline surveillance firm had deployed both human and technical intelligence in monitoring the movements of the vessel until it was finally caught on Friday.
“Unknown to the perpetrators, we have been monitoring the movements of the vessel until we finally apprehended it off the coast in Ondo State,” he said.
“The original name of the vessel was Ali-Riza-Bey but it was altered to ‘MT Tura 11’ to evade the eagle eyes of security agencies,” he added.
While noting that the vessel had once been arrested for same crude theft, but disappeared in mysterious circumstances, Enisuoh affirmed to newsmen saying “we are here with the same vessel committing the same atrocity.”
Consequently, the vessel was handed over to the troops of the military Joint Task Force Operation Delta Safe which has the mandate to rid Niger Delta of all criminal acts.
Speaking, the Commander, JTF Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), Rear Admiral Olusegun Ferreira, who led other service chiefs to the scene, told newsmen that an investigation is ongoing to unravel the perpetrators of the act just as he warned criminals to steer clear of the maritime domain.
Ferreira assured Nigerians that the long arms of the law would catch up with the hoodlums.
