The Nigerian Navy has recovered over 2000 metric tonnes of stolen crude and arrested two fishing trawlers with 600 bags of fish and over one tonne of shrimps
The recovery is seen as a major breakthrough in the fight against maritime crimes in the south-south by the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base(FOB) Bonny in Rivers State.
In an interview with Channels Television on Friday, the commanding officer of FOB Bonny, Navy Captain Hassan Dogara, explained that one metric tonne of crude was about 1,380 litres, emphasising that “a recovery of over 2000 metric tonnes of stolen crude is no mean feat”.
The base also handed over two fishing vessels to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, which it arrested for failing to respond to the Nigerian Navy challenge code.
The three barges containing over 2000 metric tonnes of crude recovered by the forward operating base are anchored at Bonny anchorage and put under security watch.
According to the commanding officer, lack of storage facilities is one of the challenges faced by his men in the preservation of stolen crude.
“This jeopardises the environment and the economy may be losing hundreds of millions of Naira if the recovered stolen crude is not properly evacuated,” Navy Captain Dogara said.
The captain of one of the arrested fishing vessels said he was a victim of circumstance.
There have been reported cases of crude oil theft in the south-south region where major drilling operations take place, a development that the government had asked security agencies to bring to an end.
