Security operatives intercept 800k litres vessel ‘notorious for crude oil theft’

The joint military task force has intercepted an 800,000 litres capacity vessel with stolen crude oil in Ondo state. 

Speaking with journalists on Monday, Warredi Enisuoh, operations manager, Tantita Security Services Limited, said his organisation provided intelligence that aided the arrest of the vessel by security operatives. 

Although the vessel was arrested along the coastline of Ondo, Enisuoh said it was taken to Oporoza, Delta state, to be displayed.

He said the vessel changed its name to MT Tura II after initially registering in Togo, adding that security operatives had arrested the vessel in the past. 

“It was a bit of a joint operation. As you know, the NNPC has been at the forefront of battling this crude oil theft,” Enisuoh said.

“As you can see, the military has also been very supportive when it comes to battling this crude oil theft. We got intelligence on this vessel a long time back. 

“As you know, it is a notorious ship. It has been notorious for stealing crude oil to foreign countries here and there. 

“But somehow, it is not stronger than the Nigerian military might and with our intelligence and their support and power, we were able to bring this vessel to book on the 7th of July, 2023.”

The ship, Enisuoh said, had been eluding capture for some time and had been observed by security operatives.

“It was under arrest for some time but somehow, somewhere, it was able to evade capture but the current military and its forces were able to heed to our intelligence and jointly, we were able to bring it to book,” he said.  

“It has been evading capture for a long time and the Tura II has not got any documentation concerning Nigeria within the ship.”

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited said the vessel has been carrying out nefarious activities for 12 years.

“Further investigation into the activities of the vessel at the NNPC Ltd. Command and Control Centre also revealed that the Vessel has been operating in stealth mode for the last twelve (12) years,” NNPC said.

“The last reported location of the Vessel was Tin Can Port in July 2011.”