The Nigerian Navy NNS Pathfinder announced on Wednesday that its men in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital city, burst a Marine Vessel, MV Cecilia, laden with no less than 350,000 litres of petroleum products suspected to be stolen diesel.
Speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt, Commander, Operation Delta Safe, OPDS, Real Admiral Olusegun Ferrera, said the vessel, which has been out of use for about two years, was converted to a storage tank for illegal refined products.
Represented by the maritime component commander of the joint task force for South-South of Operation Delta Safe, Navy Commodore Adedokun Siyanbade, Ferrera, maintained that Nigeria Navy is on the course to optimizing and ensuring that the mandate of the OPDS is actualized.
The Commander Joint Taskforce South-South of OPDS directed the NNS Pathfinder to conduct a covert operation in the area.
While displaying the recovered vessel to journalists in Port Harcourt today, Ferrera said they got intelligence that illegality was going on within the area, adding that the operation, which was conducted on the 15th of August, 2023, led to the arrest of MV Cecilia.
He said: “I’m here on behalf of the Commander Joint Taskforce Operation Delta Safe, Real Admiral Olusegun Ferrera. We are here this morning to show you the arrest of a vessel that was involved in illegalities in this general area.
“As part of the efforts at optimizing and ensuring that the mandate of the OPDS is actualised, the Commander Joint Taskforce South south of OPDS directed the NNS Pathfinder base on credible intelligence to conduct a covert operation in this area, and the intelligence was based on the fact of illegality going on within this area.
“The operation was conducted yesterday, 15th of August, 2023 and the operation led to the arrest of MV Cecilia with a vessel that ought to be a service vessel but has been converted to a storage tank of illegally refined products suspected to be AGO. The vessel has a capacity together, including fuel and water capacity, of about 350,000 litres.
“The water tanks have been converted as storage tanks for this illegal product, and the vessel has not been to sea for the past two years. It was expected to be under maintenance, but it’s being used for a different purpose where people from illegal refinery sites bring their products to this place to discharge, whereby other people also come here to purchase the product”
He added: “So, the vessel has been arrested, and necessary procedures will be taken in line with extant regulations biding Operation Delta Safe operation and I am also to inform you that in Rivers State on Monday, two tankers were also arrested the tankers were laden with 30,000 litres of products suspected to be crude oil were also arrested by Joint sector 3 of Operation Delta Safe including land component and water component.
“They were caught siphoning crude oil from a dugout pit in Obio general area of Rivers State. So, for this vessel and those tankers as well, necessary actions will be taken in line with extant regulation.”
The Navy boss said the suspects, as well as the vessel and products, will be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution.
