Navy Defends Vessel, MT Praise, Suspected Of Carrying Stolen Crude Oil

The Nigerian Navy has said Motor Tanker (MT) Praisel was duly approved by Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to load 1,114,721 litres of high pour fuel oil (HPFO) from Greenmac Energy Storage/Tarus Jetty Koko from 26 July – 8 August 2023.

The Director Information Naval Headquarters, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan disclosed this in a statement while reacting to media reports on alleged oil theft by the vessel with the connivance of Nigerian Navy personnel.

He said contrary to reports, the Nigerian Navy in line with standard operating procedure to ensure strict deployed personnel onboard to monitor the discharge of the product by MT PRAISEL at a facility at Bonny.

“To put the record straight and avoid the misrepresentation of facts to unsuspecting members of the public as portrayed, MT PRAISEL was duly approved by Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to load 1,114,721 Litres of High Pour Fuel Oil (HPFO) from Greenmac Energy Storage/Tarus Jetty Koko from 26 July – 8 August 2023. This has been substantiated by NMDPRA.

He added “In line with Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and to ensure strict compliance with the NMDPRA approval, NN personnel were deployed onboard to monitor the discharge of the product by MT PRAISEL at a facility at Bonny.”

Commodore Ayo-Vaughan explained that despite the approval, operatives of a private security firm Tantita Security Services Ltd on 2 August 2023, “claiming to act on intelligence alleged that the vessel was laden with stolen crude oil” approached an element of Operation DELTA SAFE to board the vessel in order to verify the alleged stolen product.

He said “accordingly, the NN directed the vessel to Forward Operating Base ESCRAVOS anchorage for further investigation of the product onboard.”

The Director said the samples of the product onboard MT PRAISEL were collected on Thursday 3 August 2023 by five agencies including NNPCL, NMDPRA and also TSSL in line with laid procedures for laboratory test and verification of the claim.

He restated that Navy being the lead agency in the fight against maritime crimes, has always been at the vanguard of supporting every single effort to halt economic saboteurs of our country.

“Therefore, while it is desirable for all hands to be on deck in the fight against crude oil theft, necessary precaution must be adhered to by all stakeholders to avoid unnecessary impediment to legitimate commercial activities and businesses in the maritime environment that have far reaching consequences for the nation’s economy” he cautioned.

He therefore, appealed to the general public to await the laboratory test result of the product and in-depth investigations on allegation.

The Director stressed that NN under leadership of Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla is poised to ensure transparency and renewed effort towards interagency cooperation and synergy in the fight against illegalities and criminality in Nigeria’s Maritime Environment particularly oil theft.