BY Danlami Nasir Isah
Authorities of the NigeriaAuthorities Arrest Vessel for Illegally Evading Detection at Sea few days ago said they have handed over a tanker vessel, MT Sea Eunice, which was arrested for switching of its Automatic Identification System (AIS), to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
This comes barely three weeks after a warning was sounded by the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mallam Mele Kyari, that operators of some vessels were involved in suspicious activities relating to crude oil smuggling out of Nigeria.
While addressing a press conference at the end of January over a broad spectrum of market abuses in the Nigerian petroleum industry and the various measures being adopted to tackle them, Kyari said “I am warning every one of us here, some vessels left Lagos and they switched off their AIS. We have already reported them to the Authority and we have called the owners of those vessels.
“Technology has come to play and anyone who diverts vessels, we will see it now and we will take the necessary actions. The Chief of Naval Staff is here, we will not just tell them to arrest it, we will ask them to do what we did to the crude oil vessel, no matter who owns it, so that you won’t do it again. For all of us here, this is a solution time.”
The Nigerian Navy has confirmed that the arrested vessel, which is presently located along Escravos River, close to the Aroton Community, was arrested on August 11, 2022, by the Nigerian Navy. It is not clear whether the arrested vessel is the same as the one earlier spoken about by Kyari three weeks ago.
However, the Base Operation Officer, Nigerian Navy ship, Delta (NNS, DELTA), Commander Samuel Musa, noted that the vessel was arrested for constantly switching off its Automatic Identification System (AIS), while at sea.
According to him, that practice was illegal and a serious violation of the regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which are also implemented by NIMASA in Nigeria.
Responding to this development, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, lauded the Nigerian Navy for being proactive in its operations.
“Let me use this opportunity to state that NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy are partners in progress, because without synergy we cannot realise our mandates. We will continue to work closely with the Nigerian Navy to strengthen the existing ties to ensure we keep our maritime environment safe and secured,” the DG stated.
Also speaking, the District Surveyor, Central Zone, NIMASA, Engr. Joshua Oyadiran, who received the vessel on behalf of the Agency, assured that investigations would be carried out in line with the mandate of the Agency.