The Nigerian Navy has arrested 10 suspected oil bunkerers in Rivers State as part of measures to maintain maritime security in the Niger Delta region.
This was disclosed by the Commanding Officer of the Forward Operations Base, Bonny, Captain Reginald Adoki, saying the suspects were apprehended on Wednesday.
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While the crew of the vessel MV Mother Cabrini was arrested, the vessel was seized for transporting suspected illegally refined Automated Gas Oil (AGO).
Adoki said his men acting on intelligence arrested the vessel and took a sample of the product they found aboard to an approved laboratory where they were tested and found to be substandard.
“The base responded by deploying tactical units when we got credible intelligence that the vessel was outbound the Bonny channel proceeding to sea, and on intercepting the vessel we carried out a physical inspection, checked her documents and interrogated the crew,” he said.
“We’ve been able to establish that the vessel is carrying about 80,000 litres of the product we initially suspected to be illegally refined AGO and to confirm our suspicions samples were taken to the NMDPRA’s approved laboratory in Port Harcourt and the results confirmed our suspicions that the product is not genuine and is definitely from an illegal source.”
Captain Adoki also assured maritime travellers of their safety during this festive period.
“We’ve rescued some victims from sea robbers and this is just to show how committed we are in this period of the year and this is what we’ll keep doing throughout this ember months when we know that possible rate of crime will increase,” he added.
