NNPC, CDS Inspect Illegal Vessel Intercepted in Warri

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) on Monday inspected an illegal crude oil vessel loaded with thousands of metric tonnes of crude oil.

The vessel was intercepted by Tantita Security Services, a private security firm.

The NNPC Ltd, in a statement posted via its official X handle on Monday, said the vessel was intercepted in collaboration with the Nigeria Security & Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), while it was loading directly from an offshore platform in Bayelsa State.

“Earlier today, the Group CEO of NNPC Ltd, Mr Mele Kyari, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, were in Oporoza, Warri, Delta State, to inspect MT Kali, an illegal crude oil vessel loaded with thousands of metric tonnes of crude oil, intercepted by Tantita Security Services, a private security firm, in collaboration with the Nigeria Security & Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), while it was loading directly from an offshore platform in Bayelsa State,” the NNPC Ltd said.

It said all 23 crew members onboard the illegal vessel have been arrested.

During the inspection tour of the illegal vessel on Monday, according to the statement, Mr Musa said the military remains committed to working with NNPC Ltd and other government and private security agencies to halt the menace of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta.

“We are committed to stopping all acts of criminality in Nigerian waters. We are also sounding a note of warning to the perpetrators of this crime that enough is enough.

“The country is bleeding, and we need all the funds to develop as a nation. It is by stopping these acts of criminality that we will be able to achieve that dream,” Mr Musa added.

In recent years, Nigeria has recorded a surge in oil theft incidents in its oil-producing region, which has worsened the nation’s revenue challenge.

In a bid to curb crude oil theft, the Nigerian government launched an application in August 2022 to monitor cases of theft.

The NNPC Ltd also awarded a multi-billion naira pipeline surveillance contract to a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, Government Tompolo.