An intercepted vessel carrying barrels of stolen crude oil has been set ablaze by security personnel of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe in the Escravos region of Delta State.
The Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Limited, Garba Deen Muhammad, in a statement had said, “Following the receipt of credible intelligence, a Private Security Contractor engaged by NNPC Ltd., Messrs. Tantita Security Services, intercepted a suspicious Vessel with Cargo of Crude oil on board on July 7, 2023.
The Vessel, MT TURA II (IMO number: 6620462), owned by a Nigerian Registered Company, HOLAB MARITIME SERVICES LIMITED with Registration Number RC813311, was heading to Cameroun with the Cargo on board when it was apprehended at an offshore location (Latitude: 5.8197194477543235°, Longitude: 4.789002723991871°), with the Captain and Crew members on board.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the crude oil cargo onboard was illegally sourced from a well jacket offshore Ondo State, Nigeria. There was no valid documentation for the Vessel or the Crude Oil Cargo onboard 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 twelve (12) years. The last reported location of the Vessel was Tin Can Port in July 2011.
Tantita Executive Director on Technical Operations, Capt. Warredi Enisuoh in a chat with newsmen said the government made a swift decision to destroy the vessel. He said, “the whole idea of destroying the vessel is to send a strong message to all would-be investors that this is what they’re to face if they tow this type of business.”
Enisuoh said illegal bunkerers and their sponsors should be ready to lose their assets as the government and security forces will do all it takes to bring them to book.
Officials of the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Airforce, Nigeria Security & Civil Defence Corps, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC as well as officials of the Delta State Government were on ground during the burning of the vessel.
