SEPCOL on fire incident: No reported fatalities, investigation team to inspect oil vessel

The management of Shebah Exploration & Production Company Limited (SEPCOL) says there are no fatalities at the scene of the oil vessel fire incident.

Ikemefuna Okafor, chief executive officer, SEPCOL, made the development known while providing an update on the fire that engulfed a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.

The FPSO Trinity Spirit is located at Ukpokiti Terminal, Warri, Delta state.

TheCable had reported that the fire incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday.

Okafor, however, said SEPCOL is still establishing the whereabouts, safety, and security of the ten crew members who were on board the vessel prior to the incident.

“We have been working with the relevant authorities and stakeholders to contain the situation and an investigation has been launched to establish the cause of the explosion,” the statement reads.

“We can confirm that the fire burnt out completely as of Thursday afternoon, 3rd February 2022, and this has enabled closer inspection of the vessel. With this development, a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) has been scheduled for Saturday, 5th February 2022, with the relevant authorities, stakeholders, and expert organisations.

“Currently, there are still no reported fatalities, and we continue prioritising investigations with respect to establishing the whereabouts, safety, and security of the ten crew members who were on board the vessel prior to the incident.

“We appreciate the assistance provided us by the Clean Nigeria Associates, the Chevron team, NOSDRA, NUPRC, SPDC and people in the community, particularly the fishermen, who have been of immense assistance since the incident occurred.”

Okafor advised the public to keep away from the area, saying the crisis management team will monitor developments and update stakeholders with new information.

Sharon Ikeazor, minister of state for environment, had said the oil vessel was holding about 50-60 thousand barrels of crude oil at the time of the incident. 

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said it had commenced an investigation into the incident.