By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
INTERCEPTED thieving Cameroon-bound MT TURA II, laden with stolen crude oil has been destroyed by fire on Tuesday.
Security operatives of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, in collaboration with Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), carried out the destruction at the Escravos area of Delta State.
The vessel, MT TURA II (IMO No:6620462) with Registration No., RC 813311, which was set ablaze by a military helicopter, it will be recalled, was intercepted by men of the Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd on July 7, 2023 at the high sea in Ondo State.
The vessel, allegedly owned by a Nigeran registered company, was headed to Cameroon with the cargo onboard when it was apprehended at an offshore location with the captain and 12 other crew members onboard.
The Executive Director of Operations and Technical at Tantita Security, Captain Warred Enisuoh and the Commander of the Joint Task Force, Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Olusegun Ferreira, said the oil cargo was illegally sourced from a well-jacketed offshore in Ondo State with no valid documentation at the time of the arrest.
The thieving vessel had operated in stealth mode for the past 10 years and was arrested at a time, left off the hook and later changed name to continue its thieving business.
The discovery was the latest in the series of disturbing findings by TSSL, a security outfit owned by High Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemepulo aka Tompolo under contract by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd.
The vessel
Speaking with journalists in Warri shortly after setting the vessel ablaze, the Executive Director, Technical and Operations, Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd. Captain Warredi Enisuoh, said the destruction was to send a strong warning signals to other intending criminals.
“The Ali Riza Bay criminal ship that has terrorized Nigerian Economic and sovereignty in terms of maritime for over 10 years has been rendered useless today.
“Further actions will render it completely unusable. The essence of this is to send a stronger message to both local and international collaborators who partner to work against Nigeria, this is the fate your asset will meet and also the government is not going to take it lightly with you.
Tantita operatives
“So you can see how seriously we are, the partnership we have is not just about us Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, it’s about empowerment from the Federal Government as well as the NNPCL and then the Nigerian security forces and more so the new administration that has continued from where the previous administration stopped to fight this crime that has been denying us of our God-given wealth,” he noted.
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