The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said that it was closely monitoring the crude oil spill incident, which occurred during loading operations in Egina FPSO in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
LEADERSHIP reports that the spill will cost Nigeria a loss of about 2.3 million barrels of crude oil.
In a press statement by the Head of Public Relations, NIMASA, Edward Osagie, he said the agency was working closely with the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) from the Crisis Management Room (CMR) on the incident.
He said the agencies were monitoring the spill in real-time using oil spill monitoring software from the Emergency Response Center.
Though the volume of spill was not yet confirmed, Total Energies was providing aerial surveillance, dispersant application, while further mobilisation was being considered as the Oil Spill Response Limited from the United Kingdom was also assisting with pollution control measures.
Reconnaissance survey of the impacted area confirmed that the shoreline communities of Andoni, Qua-Iboe terminals, Bonny Island, Opobo/Nkoro and Eastern Obolo, which are closest to Egina, were not yet affected.
The director-general of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, noted that the Agency was in collaboration with all stakeholders to control the pollution and also put in place measures to prevent such occurrences in the future, in line with provisions of the MARPOL Convention.
“Since the incident happened, our men have been liaising with other organs of Government to ensure the pollution is effectively controlled and managed, to protect the marine environment and the communities close to the incident point. Accidents do happen, it’s what we do thereafter that matters and I believe that the IOC Total, working with NIMASA, NUPRC, NOSDRA and collaborating with international service providers, will surely ensure proper management of the spill,” he stated.
