A ship loaded with 150,000 liters of stolen crude oil was set on fire in Delta State by Tantita Security Limited and Nigerian National Petroleum Company agents.
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According to reports, Holab Maritime Services Limited is the owner of the ship MT TURA II (IMO Number:6620462), with the registration number RC 813311.
When the vessel was detained on Saturday, July 7 with 11 Nigerians and one Ghanaian aboard, it was reportedly transporting crude oil from Nigeria to Cameroon.
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The government decided quickly to destroy the vessel, according to Capt. Warredi Enisuoh, Executive Director on Technical Operations for Tantita.
In his words, “the whole idea of destroying the vessel is to send a strong message to all would-be investors that this is what they’re to face if they tow this type of business.”
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Enisuoh warned that illegal bunkerers and those who fund them should be prepared to forfeit their possessions since the authorities and security forces will take all necessary steps to prosecute them.
Officials from the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Airforce, Nigeria Security & Civil Defence Corps, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, as well as representatives from the Delta State Government, according to our correspondent who observed the exercise.