Another vessel carrying stolen oil is intercepted by NNPC’s private security contractor.
Tantita Security Services, a private security company of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has intercepted another vessel loaded with crude oil suspected of being stolen, BusinessDay can report. This comes just a month after Tantita Security Services seized a suspicious vessel with a cargo of 800,000 liters of stolen crude oil.
On Wednesday, August 3, 2023, the Tanita Security Services intercepted the 1,117-ton ship in the Koko region of Delta State, which was transporting roughly 8,100 barrels of petroleum.
The ship, MT PRAISEL, was reportedly being accompanied by several navy officials.
Former Niger Delta agitator Government Ekpemupolo, commonly known as Tompolo, is the owner of the private security company Tanita Security.
The ship, according to Security personnel, was flying a Togolese flag and was accompanied by a Navy boat commanded by a senior navy commander.
The Tanita operators claim that they ran across resistance from the navy boat guarding the ship, and the naval captain pledged to deal with them forcefully. The private operators, though, vowed to stand their ground.
They ultimately got in touch with Emmanuel Ogalla, the Chief of Naval Staff, and Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, who both authorized their visit to the ship.
The security firm asserts that upon boarding the ship, they discovered that while the vessel was given permission by the navy to transport goods, it lacked approval for this voyage from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, which is in charge of overseeing Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations.
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The event occurred shortly after the Federal Government asserted that the unlawful selling of stolen crude oil causes Nigeria to suffer economic losses totaling N2.3 trillion annually.
On July 7, 2023, Tantita Security Services seized a suspicious vessel that was carrying 800,000 liters of crude oil.
According to the NNPC, preliminary investigations showed that the crude oil cargo onboard was unlawfully obtained from a well jacket offshore of Ondo State, Nigeria.
“At the time of the arrest, there was no valid documentation for the Vessel or the Crude Oil Cargo onboard,” the NNPC stated.
The vessel was operating in stealth mode for the previous twelve (12) years, according to further examination of the vessel’s actions at the NNPC Ltd. Command and Control Center. The vessel’s last known location was Tin Can Port in July 2011.
It was decided to demolish the vessel as a strong warning and deterrence to all those engaging in such criminal acts to cease and desist once details of this arrest and the findings of the investigations were elevated to the proper Government authorities.
As a powerful deterrence, destroying the boats used to transport stolen crude oil is crucial. The unlawful sale of stolen crude oil “perpetuates a cycle of corruption, environmental destruction, and social instability in addition to causing Nigeria and legitimate oil industry stakeholders to suffer significant economic losses,” the business said.
Nigerians are given the NNPC’s word that the fight against crude oil theft would continue apace until it is put an end to.
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Source : BusinessDay