The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT on Saturday announced the arrest of a Motor Tanker (MT), Sweet Miri, suspected to be carrying 2 million liters of stolen crude oil.
Crew members on board the vessel at the time of the arrest were 12 Nigerians and 1 Ghanaian.
Briefing newsmen onboard the vessel, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral MB Hassan, stated that the vessel had been a vessel of interest to the Nigerian Navy and she was being arrested on suspicion of crude oil theft.
He added that, “On 25 February 2024, the vessel was observed to have switched off its Automatic Identification System to avoid detection.
“The vessel was arrested 174 nautical miles of the coast of Nigeria, approximately 320 kilometers, heading to Benin Republic.
“This necessitated the deployment of Nigerian Navy Ship ABA to investigate the vessel. Subsequently, she was found to be carrying products suspected to be crude oil.
“Thereafter, NNS SOKOTO was deployed to double up the search and interdict the vessel. On arrival, it was discovered that she was carrying about 2 million liters of suspected product without approval.”
The FOC further disclosed that, in line with the directive of Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral EI Ogalla, the ship is opened for other agencies to come and take samples and carry out their own independent investigations to find out the culpability of the vessel.
A statement by the Base Information Officer, Lieutenant Hussaini Ibrahim, disclosed that “the vessel is owned by a Ghanaian and registered in Ghana by a Ghanaian company.”
Giving update on an earlier arrested Motor Tanker VINNALARIS, the FOC said that, on the instruction of the CNS, the investigations of all arrested vessels should be conducted beyond the level of crew.
In that regard, the FOC extended the investigation to uncover the kingpins. He finally appreciated the efforts of DSS for assisting the Nigerian Navy in conducting investigations when matters of crude oil theft are brought to them.
