A Ghana-bound vessel carrying approximately 650 cubic meters of stolen crude oil was destroyed in the creeks yesterday.
The vessel, along with eight crew members and the captain, was apprehended while stealing crude oil from the Escravos-Abiteye boot line.
According to Capt. Warren Enisuoh, a maritime intelligence consultant for Tompolo’s outfit, Tanita Security Services, the vessel has been coming into the Niger Delta and loading illegal oil to Ghana, where it is offloaded at Tema ports.
“We have been monitoring the vessel in Nigerian waters for quite some time,” he said. It has been seen in the Niger Delta transporting illegal crude oil to Ghana, specifically Tema.
“On October 6, an ambush was planned for this specific vessel.” They came in to load, brought the ship from Escravos, and went up along the creek, where they had no idea we were waiting. We let them connect the hoses from the Escravos/Abiteye pipeline, and they began pumping crude into it. They were caught off guard.
“The line they were stealing crude from is a major pipeline that leads to the Chevron terminal.”
“The boat had 12 compartments, but by the time they were apprehended, they had only loaded five.” He stated that the vessel was carrying approximately 650 cubic meters of crude oil divided into various compartments.
According to him, the oil thieves were unable to complete their illegal operation due to the arrival of Tantita Security Services, which is owned by ex-Niger Delta militant Government Ekpemupolo (a.k.a Tompolo).
He stated that the eight people arrested would be turned over to the proper authorities for prosecution.
The captain of the vessel, Capt. Temple Manase, stated that the vessel was hijacked by some people who forced them to load the crude into the vessel.
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