800,000 litres of stolen crude oil were aboard a stolen vessel, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which was en route to Cameroon.
This was said in a statement released on Monday by its spokesperson, Garba Deen Muhammad.
According to Muhammad, on Friday, July 7, a suspicious vessel with a cargo of crude oil on board was apprehended by Messrs. Tantita Security Services, a private security contractor hired by NNPC.
Muhammad revealed that Holab Marine Services Limited, a Nigerian-registered business with Registration Number RC813311, is the owner of the questioned vessel, known as MT Tura II.
He claimed that while travelling to Cameroon with the illegal cargo, the vessel was stopped at an offshore point. At the moment of the interception, the captain and the crew of the ship were also there.
The crude oil cargo on board, according to Muhammad’s early findings, was illegally acquired from an offshore well jacket in Ondo State, and neither the vessel nor the crude oil cargo had appropriate documentation 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,” Muhammad added.
According to him, the details of this arrest and the findings of the investigations were escalated to the appropriate government authorities, and it was decided to destroy the Vessel as a strong warning and deterrent to all those involved in such illegal activities to stop and desist.
“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.”
However, NNPC assures Nigerians that it will keep up the pressure in its battle against crude oil theft until this illegal activity is completely stopped.