By Philip Nwosu
It was a bad day for crew members of an oil vessel as the Nigerian Navy operatives attached to the NNS BEECROFT ended their dream of allegedly stealing refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) from unauthorised refineries in the Niger Delta.
Commander of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT, Commodore Maurice Eno, said the vessel and the crew were impounded on June 30, 2017, for allegedly stealing 339,000 litres of AGO.
Commodore Eno, who addressed the media said samples of the product on board the vessel were taken for laboratory test and it was discovered that the product did not meet the specification of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and that of the Department of Petroleum Resource (DPR).
Commodore Eno, while handing over the vessel to the EFCC operatives, led by the Head of Extractive Industry Fraud Section, Mr. Idris Abdullahi Abubakar, said NNS BEECROFT patrol team intercepted and arrested the vessel identified as MT WOLOF around the Lagos Safe Anchorage Area (LSAA).
He said: “At the time of the arrest, MT WOLOF was loaded with about 300metric tons of product suspected to be illegally refined Automated Gas Oil (AGO) and had seven crew members onboard.
“Investigation revealed that the vessel had no document to support the product it was carrying.”
He explained that following this development and the inability of the vessel to show authorisation to carry the product found in its possession; the vessel was handed over to the EFCC for further investigation and possible prosecution.
Eno reiterated that the navy, in its renewed efforts to curb maritime domain of illegalities, would not tolerate any fraudulent activities in the nation’s maritime environment.
He warned that, “the Nigerian Navy, under the leadership of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas, has zero tolerance for illegalities in the Nigerian waters.
“The Navy, therefore, reiterates its drive to safeguard Nigeria’s maritime domain from criminal elements.
“I advise defaulters to desist from such acts or face the wrath of the law. I also urge citizens to give useful information on persons who engage in illegal act to the navy or other security agencies.’’