29 March 2013, Sweetcrude, Lagos – THE Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has arrested a vessel ‘M. T. Green Dolphin’ with suspected stolen crude oil with the Lagos territorial waters.
Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi , NIMASA’s Director General said that the vessel which was laden with 700 meetric tonnes of crude oil, has been detained and the crew handed over to the Police for further investigation.
Akpobolokemi said that the agency has been monitoring the movement of the vessel until it got enough information that she had stolen crude on her.
He explained that the vessel had been arrested in the past and was released around December last year following a court orde to effect some repairs on her.
“After the relese of the vessel, she remained under the surveillance of NIMASA until she was found to have been involved in clandestine activities within the West African coast.
“We also discovered that the vessel had been involved in other criminal activities in the past as most of the crew on board have confessed to some of these crimes,” he added.
He noted that a crime free maritime environment is one of the greatest desire of both the agency and government.
The NIMASA boss said the agency has zero tolerance for oil theft and pirate activities on the nation’s waters, adding that these crimes constitutes economic sabotage.