August 16, (THEWILL) – Men of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder have arrested a Marine Vessel, MV Cecilia, laden with about 350,000 litres of suspected Stolen diesel in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Commander, Operation Delta Safe, (OPDS), Real Admiral Olusegun Ferrera, made this known while briefing newsmen in Port Harcourt, on Wednesday.
Represented by Navy Commodore Adedokun Siyanbade, Commander of the Maritime Unit of OPDS, Ferrera said: “As part of the efforts at optimising and ensuring that the mandate of the OPDS is actualised, the Commander, Joint Taskforce South south of OPDS, directed the NNS Pathfinder, base on credible intelligence, to conduct a covert operation in this area and the intelligence was based on the fact of illegality going on within this area.
“The operation was conducted yesterday, 15th of August, 2023 and the operation led to the arrest of MV Cecilia with a vessel that ought to be a service vessel but has been converted to a storage tank of illegally refined products suspected to be AGO. The vessel has a capacity, all together, including the fuel and water capacity, of about 350,000 litres.
“The water tanks have been converted as a storage tank for these illegal products and the vessel has not been to sea for the past two years. It was expected to be under maintenance but it’s being used for a different purpose whereby people from illegal refinery sites bring their products to this place to discharge whereby other people also come here to purchase the product.
“So, the vessel has been arrested and necessary procedures will be taken in line with extant regulations biding Operation Delta Safe operation. I am also to inform you that in Rivers State, on Monday, two tankers were also arrested. The tankers, laden with 30,000 litres of products suspected to be crude oil, were also arrested by Joint Sector 3 of Operation Delta Safe, including land component and water components.
“They were caught siphoning crude oil from a dugout pit in Obio general area of Rivers State. So, for this vessel and those tankers as well, necessary actions will be taken in line with extant regulation.”
He said the suspects, as well as the vessel and products, will be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution.
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