JTF clears vessel impounded for alleged oil theft to continue operation

The Joint Task Force (JTF) deployed to protect oil facilities in the Niger Delta, Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), on Sunday released an impounded vessel, MT Praisel, to continue its operations.

The task force had earlier detained the vessel over alleged involvement in oil theft.

The JTF Commander, Rear Admiral Olusegun Ferreira, who addressed journalists at a briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Yenagoa, said the clearance followed the discovery that the vessel’s operation was legitimate and received extant approvals.

He said the MT Praisel was granted approval by the Nigerian Mid-Stream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to load 1,114,721 litres of High Pour Fuel Oil (HPFO).

The vessel, according to Ferreira, was to convey the product from Greenmac Energy Storage at Tarus Jetty Koko in Delta from July 26 July to August 8.

He added that the approval was subsequently amplified by the Nigerian Navy for compliance.

The commander said: “However, on August 2, 2023, Tantita Security Services Limited reportedly acting on intelligence, suspected the vessel to be laden with crude oil and approached an element of Operation Delta Safe to accompany their operatives to board the vessel to confirm the product on board.

READ ALSO: JTF hands over suspected oil thieves to NSCDC in Delta

“It is pertinent to note that Tantita and other pipeline surveillance companies do not embark on independent operations. Operations are conducted in conjunction with OPDS units and troops based on intelligence provided by sources.

“Subsequently, the vessel was taken to Escravos Anchorage in the early hours of August 3, 2023, for verification of the product on board and other investigations due to the weighty suspicion and zero tolerance for Crude Oil Theft (COT) by the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

“It was also necessary to display transparency and synergy in any investigation bordering on COT.

”Accordingly, it is necessary to clarify that Pipeline Surveillance Contractors including Tantita are only to provide credible intelligence to the OPDS elements working with them and are not permitted to independently carry out operations to intercept or arrest any vessel.”

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