Grounded vessel: Navy arrests six suspects

[Mirror]

Fresh facts emerged yesterday on the grounded barge laden with stolen crude as the Nigerian Navy in Bayelsa State said it arrested six suspected oil thieves that drove the tug to retrieve the vessel.

The grounded vessel, MV LILA and tug, MV St. VICTORIA, have been impounded by a Naval gun boat, NNS BOMADI, at Odioama along St. Nicholas River in Brass Local Government Area of the state.

Flag Officer Commanding, Central Naval Command, Yenagoa, Rear Admiral Sidi-Ali Usman, told journalists that operatives of the Forward Operation Base (FORMOSO) were making relentless efforts to ensure the barge was salvaged from its present position.

He said: "On August 10, at about 18.25, a naval team on routine patrol was attracted to a suspected barge movement from Odioama to St. Nicholas River. On approaching the self-propelled barge, it was discovered to have gone aground. The barge was identified as MV LILA.

Usman revealed that five vessels linked with illegal oil bunkering in the state had been impounded in the last two months, stressing that more arrests would be made by the Navy.

He said: "This will prevent the likelihood of oil spill and consequential damage to the environment. Similarly, investigation into the source of the suspected stolen product in the barge has been commenced.

"That barge must have gone aground when they were making efforts to get it, but they were not aware that part of our strategy is also to contain these illicit activities from the seaward end. So, when we noticed this, we tasked the unit over there to contain the activity and on the process, we found this barge abandoned. As I speak, some of our men are mounting surveillance there. It is in the course of the surveillance that we arrested this tug. The tug actually came to retrieve the grounded barge."

Usman added: "Somebody must have contracted the tug, the owner who uses his tug to come and retrieve his property. It would have been a different game if we were not able to lay hand on anybody. We were not deceived even with the abandonment, we quickly instructed that they should be within the area, that it was not a ghost that brought the barge there."

He warned that illegal oil vessels without valid documents plying the waterways would be impounded.

Usman said: "We are using this opportunity to warn illegal oil bunkerers; they are not supposed to be there. They required papers for them to be there. We will arrest any illegal vessel seen. Even as I speak now, we have arrested some vessels. More arrests will still be made, we are unrelenting.

"Our strategy is of three fold, we will go after them in the creeks, also the areas where they carry out illegal refineries. If they are sighted, we will destroy them.

"We patrol at the seaward end of the creeks. Any vessel of opportunities that is sighted there would be impounded. Any vessel without clearance papers will be seized. I hope vessels coming this way will comply. There is no room for illegalities in the sea, we cannot tolerate it any further."

National Mirror