The Tantita Safety Providers Nigeria Restricted, in collaboration with the Nigerian Police Pressure and the Nigeria Safety and Civil Protection Corps, has arrested a Mordovia-based vessel, MT Harbor Spirit, with IMO Quantity 8226272 in Bayelsa State.
The ship was arrested together with twelve Nigerian crew members engaged in unlawful bunkering of crude oil within the state.
Tantita's Govt Director of Operations, Captain Warriedi Enisuoh, whereas parading the ship and crew members on Tuesday, stated the ship was at the moment anchored on the Tantita facility in Oporoza in Gbaramatu Kingdom, close to Escravos.
Noting that the vessel was arrested round 1am on Sunday, he stated it was loitering across the Sangana oil subject in Bayelsa the place it was already anchored on one of many oil platforms and illegally loading crude oil.
In keeping with Enisuoh, on the time of the arrest, roughly 88,000 liters of crude oil had already been illegally siphoned by the ship's crew.
He added that the aim of the arrest was primarily to forestall oil theft.
He defined that the surveillance in collaboration with different safety companies was geared toward arresting the ship's sponsors and people who had used the ship to commit crimes within the nation.
“What you see right here as we speak is the results of the strict directions and orders of the Chief of Protection Employees on the right way to cope with the scourge of crude oil theft, which was closely supported by all the safety forces,” he stated.
When questioned by journalists, the captain of the arrested ship, who gave his identify as Shittu Joseph, confirmed that he was apprehended on the loading level in Sangana by the Tantita and the NSCDC officers.
He stated: “We aren’t comfortable concerning the botched operation as we’re already making makes an attempt to search out our approach out earlier than the safety officers rush in direction of us.
“Three of my crew even jumped into the water and thus far we haven't heard from them.
“We’re only a workforce; we’re Nigerians and it is just what we wish to eat that we’re in search of.”
The pinnacle of investigations of the Particular Police Process Pressure on Petroleum and Unlawful Bunkering, Chief Inspector of Police Omar Sini, informed journalists that the investigation had begun.
He added that the progress and ultimate end result of the investigation could be made public by means of the workplace of the Pressure Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police Pressure.
