The Nigerian Navy NNS Pathfinder busted the MV Cecilia on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, while it was carrying no less than 350,000 liters of petroleum products, some of which were thought to be stolen diesel.
Commander of Operation Delta Safe, OPDS, Real Admiral Olusegun Ferrera, said in a press conference in Port Harcourt that the vessel, which has been idle for about two years, was transformed into a storage tank for illicit refined products.
Navy Commodore Adedokun Siyanbade, the maritime component commander of the joint task force for Operation Delta Safe’s South-South region, spoke on behalf of Ferrera, who insisted that the Nigerian Navy is on track to maximize and ensure that the OPDS’s mandate is carried out.
The NNS Pathfinder was instructed to carry out a covert operation in the region by the Commander Joint Taskforce South-South of OPDS.
Ferrera said they received information that illegal activity was occurring in the area while showing the recovered vessel to journalists in Port Harcourt today. He added that the operation, which was carried out on August 15, 2023, resulted in the arrest of MV Cecilia.
He said: “I’m here on behalf of the Commander Joint Taskforce Operation Delta Safe, Real Admiral Olusegun Ferrera. We are here this morning to show you the arrest of a vessel that was involved in illegalities in this general area.
“As part of the efforts at optimizing 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 together, including fuel and water capacity, of about 350,000 litres.
“The water tanks have been converted as storage tanks for this illegal product, 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 where people from illegal refinery sites bring their products to this place to discharge, whereby other people also come here to purchase the product”
He added: “So, the vessel has been arrested, and necessary procedures will be taken in line with extant regulations biding Operation Delta Safe operation and I am also to inform you that in Rivers State on Monday, two tankers were also arrested the tankers were 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 component.
“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.”
The Navy boss said the suspects, as well as the vessel and products, will be handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for prosecution.
