MT Vanessa earlier claimed to be carrying 8.5 million barrels of stolen crude oil has no crude
The seized MT Vanessa earlier claimed to be carrying 8.5 million barrels of stolen crude oil has no crude on board, it emerged yesterday.
The Defence Headquarters (DHq) has rolled out new directives for owners of boats and barges operating in the Niger Delta.
The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ola Ibrahim, who appeared yesterday at the House Joint Committee investigating the upsurge in illegal bunkering, debunked reports on the seized ship.
Chairman of the Committee Muraina Ajibola said the seized ship contained 8.5million barrels of crude oil.
The Committee subsequently constituted a sub-committee to find out the veracity of that claim.
In addition, the Navy was directed to hand over the ship to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for safekeeping.
“We don’t want to hear that the content of the ship has disappeared,” Ajibola said.
Contrary to the claims of the Committee, the CNS said there was no crude oil on board the ship.
He also disputed claims about the ship, saying it is Belgian and not French.
Ibrahim blamed the boom in bunkering on insiders who worked in oil companies, lack of information sharing among security agencies as well as a ready-made market for the product.
In his submision, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Vice Marshall Oluseye Petinrin, said the Defence Headquarters is working to curb the menace.
He said all boats and barges plying Nigerian coastal waters must henceforth be registered with the DHq.
In addition, any boat or barge conveying crude oil must also be registered with an oil producing company.
“We believe that we should be able to reduce bunkering in the country.
“We are getting involved because those saddled with the responsibility have refused to yield to several requests from us to that effect.
Petinrin also blamed relevant regulatory agencies partly for encouraging the illegal trade by not having proper official documentation of the boats and barges operating in the Niger Delta region.
He said prior to the intervention of the Defence Headquarters, oil companies were lossing 90 million barrels of crude monthly.
While identifying lack of regulation as a major factor to the upsurge in bunkering, the CDS said since the intervention in January 2011 to date, the loss suffered by the oil companies has reduced to an average of about three million barrels per month.
Source: The Nation
