The attention of the Nigerian Navy (NN) and Operation DELTA SAFE
(OPDS) has been drawn to the spurious and baseless allegations by the alleged
owner of Merchant Vessel (MV) CECELIA who recently claimed that their vessel
was seized and burnt by the NN. For the avoidance of doubt and to set the records
straight, MV CECELIA has been a vessel of interest and was being tracked for
allegations of oil theft. The vessel was arrested on 15 August 2023 with products
suspected to be illegally refined AGO at Meco Jetty in Port Harcourt, Rivers State
following an operation by the Naval Component of OPDS. A press interview was
conducted immediately after the arrest, however, the owners of the vessel
remained at large. Subsequently, the sample of the products onboard the vessel
was taken for laboratory analysis and it was discovered to be illicit AGO.
Pertinently, the owners of the vessel were at large and did not present themselves
to witness the test in line with extant procedure.
The behaviour of the alleged owner is not surprising, as it has been the practice among oil thieves. In some cases where vessels involved in oil theft are
arrested, the owners abscond leaving the NN to bear the cost of keeping and
sustaining the vessels. This has cost the nation huge sums of money and has
constituted serious national security problems. Most of the vessels either sink
alongside the jetty or within the channel constituting serious navigational hazards.
These abandoned vessels have been the major reason why the International
Maritime Organization (IMO) in the past, declared the nation’s ports/waterways as
the most unsafe ports in the region. This has been a contributing factor to the high
insurance premium on ships operating in Nigerian waters with negative impact on
the nation’s economy. Suffice to state that NIMASA, NPA and the NN have
expended huge sums of money in the clearing of wrecks in the waterways that
resulted from abandoned vessels engaged in oil theft. The public is to note that
MV CECELIA has not been operational and has been alongside for about 2 years.
At the time of the arrest, the vessel was laden with about 250,000 litres of illicit
AGO. So far 3 suspects have been arrested and have made useful statements while
the alleged owners remained at large.Additionally, the vessel has no NNPCL or any other regulatory approval to serve as an AGO storage facility.
This fact is clearly known to the NN and OPDS as all approved storage facilities are usually communicated to Naval Headquarters
by relevant agencies for monitoring. It is important to note that the intelligence
revealed that illegally refined products are received onboard MV CECELIA for
storage. One of the suspects revealed that they usually bring illegally refined AGO
in ‘Cotonou’ (large wooden) boats and Geepee tanks and offload into MV
CECELIA pending when it will be sold to unsuspecting members of the public. It
is unfortunate that this practice has been on without being detected until the recent
re-invigorated intelligence-led operations by OPDS and the NN. The arrest of MV CECELIA is therefore a milestone achievement in the renewed drive to rid the Niger Delta of the illicit crime of oil theft.
Accordingly, the NN and OPDS will not be hindered by the usual antics of the oil thieves. These
sometimes include the owners claiming ignorance of the use of their vessels for
illegalities. The NN and OPDS remain law abiding and will continue to carry out
its statutory roles of fighting oil theft including destruction of platforms used to
carry out the illegalities in line with extant Presidential directives.The general public should be informed that the NN and OPDS is on the look
out to arrest the criminals who conduct these crimes and abandon their vessels.