NNPC Intercepts Stolen Crude Oil, Vessel

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Ltd, announced Monday that it intercepted a suspicious vessel with 800,000 litres of stolen crude oil heading to neighbouring Cameroon.

The company made the disclosure via its spokesperson, Garba Deen Muhammad.

 According to him, the vessel was intercepted by a private security contractor, Messrs Tantita Security Services, engaged by the NNPC.

He added that MT Tura II (IMO number: 6620462), with Registration Number RC813311, is owned and operated by a Nigerian registered company named, Holab Marine Services Limited.

The vessel, Muhammad noted, was intercepted with its illicit cargo, captain and crew members onboard, at an offshore location (Lat: 5.8197194477543235°, Long: 4.789002723991871°) en route to Cameroon.

Preliminary investigations, Muhammad added, revealed that the crude oil cargo on board was illegally obtained from an Ondo state-based offshore well jacket, with both the vessel and crude oil cargo having no valid documentation at the time of interception.

He expalined that details of the interceptions, findings of subsequent investigations were escalated to relevant government authorities which took the decision to destroy the vessel as a deterrent to other would-be bunkerers.

“Further investigation into the activities of the vessel at the NNPC Ltd. Command and Control Centre also revealed that the Vessel has been operating in stealth mode for the last twelve (12) years. The last reported location of the Vessel was Tin Can Port in July 2011,” Muhammad added.

“Destroying vessels involved in transporting stolen crude oil is of paramount importance as a strong deterrent.

“The illegal trade of stolen crude oil not only inflicts significant economic losses on Nigeria and legitimate stakeholders in the oil industry but also perpetuates a cycle of corruption, environmental devastation, and social instability.