Esther Oritse
Lagos — There is some controversy over the continuous issuance of bunkering permit by the Nigerian Navy, a development which stakeholders in the Nigerian maritime industry have described as an aberration.
Speaking at the on-going Lagos International Maritime Week, Commodore Igbani Agwu, General Manager, Planning of the Nigerian Navy, said that the Navy had to come to issuance of bunkering permit, noting that the space had to be regulated because of the unwholesome activities being experienced.
Agwu also said that the Navy had to come into the issuance of bunkering licenses because Nigeria is the only country in the world where oil theft occurs hence the Naval intervention.
On the claims that Nigeria is the only country in the world where oil theft takes place, some stakeholders debunked the claims by the Navy saying that crude oil theft occurs all over the world but that the Navies of other countries are not involved in the commercial activities of their shipping industries.
Speaking on the development, a member of the Nigerian Ship Owners Association, NISA, who refused to give his name for fear of being victimized said that the Nigerian Navy’s involvement in the issuance of bunkering permit can only be permissible in Nigeria because of the entrenched interest the Navy as an institution has in commercial shipping activities.
The NISA member also said that oil theft takes place in Mexico, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Cameroon, Sudan and other parts of the world.
Also commenting, the President of the Nigerian Master Mariners Association, Captain Tajudeen Alao argued that before the Nigerian Navy got to start the issuance of bunkering permit, the Nigerian Customs Service was solely in charge of such issuance.
Alao explained that the Navy got involved because of the abuse of the entire process of issuing bunkering permits and approvals adding that the Navy is also put in charge of economic breaches on the nation’s waters.
He said: “The process of issuing bunkering approval is not an easy procedure, the approval is first given to the Flag Officer Commanding, FOC, who in turn sends the approval to the Headquarters of the Nigerian Navy in Abuja before permit is finally granted to the applicant.
“I agree that there is oil theft in some parts of the world, but our own situation is worse than what is obtainable elsewhere. All those areas you just mentioned do not have creeks like we have in Nigeria. Even with the kind of measure the government has put in place, oil theft is still going on, oil pipelines are still being broken.
“Crude oil theft is an international crime, because it is big business and the people involved are ready to invest anything, money and blackmail in order to achieve their aim.
“Up to 1980, Singapore was an illegal bunkering center, when the price of oil in the international market is high, crude oil theft becomes very lucrative but when the price is low, the business is not too encouraging.”
Responding to our inquiry, a British Navy officer, Commander Dan Wiskett disclosed that the British Navy is not in any way involved in the commercial activities of his country.
