A Ghana-bound vessel carrying around 650 cubic meters of stolen crude oil was destroyed.

Tantina Security Services, a company run by Tompolo, destroyed a ship headed for Ghana because it was stealing oil.

Advertisements

NewsReport that a ship headed for Ghana that was carrying roughly 650 cubic meters of stolen crude oil was sunk yesterday in the creeks. While taking crude oil from the Escravos-Abiteye trunk line, the vessel and its eight crew men, along with the skipper, were apprehended.

The ship had been entering the Niger Delta and transporting illegal oil to Ghana, where it is offloaded at Tema ports, according to Capt. Warren Enisuoh, a marine intelligence expert working for Tompolo’s company, Tantita Security Services.

He said: “For quite a while, we have been monitoring the vessel in Nigeria waters. It is has been frequenting the Niger Delta and carrying illegal crude oil to Ghana, precisely, Tema.

“So an ambush was laid for this particular vessel on October 6. What happened was that they came in to load and they brought the ship from Escravos and went up along the creek, where they didn’t know we were waiting. We allowed them to connect the hoses from the Escravos/Abiteye pipeline and from there they started pumping crude into it. They were taken by surprise.

“The line, where they were stealing crude, is a major pipeline that goes to the Chevron terminal.

“The boat had 12 compartments but at the time they were caught, they’ve managed to load five compartments.” He said the vessel was carrying about 650 cubic meters of crude oil, separated into various compartments.

The oil thieves, according to him, couldn’t finish the illegal operation as a result of the arrival of Tantita Security Services belonging to ex-Niger Delta militant, Government Ekpemupolo (a.k.a Tompolo).

He said the eight persons arrested would be handed over to appropriate authorities for prosecution.

The captain of the vessel, who introduced himself as Capt. Temple Manase, said the vessel was hijacked by some people, who forced them to load the crude into the vessel.