Navy Rescues 11 Passengers from Sinking Boat, Destroys Illegal Refineries in Delta, Rivers
Nigerian Navy personnel on Tuesday rescued 11 passengers from a sinking speedboat along the Bonny River, as troops intensified the clampdown on oil thieves across the Niger Delta.”
The Navy said the rescue that the team from Forward Operating Base (FOB) Bonny acted swiftly under heavy rainfall to save six men and five women after their boat, which departed Nembe Waterside Jetty in Port Harcourt for Bonny Island, developed engine failure midstream and began taking in water near the Federal Ocean Terminal, Onne, Rivers State.
According to a statement by the Director of Naval Information, Commodore A. Adams-Aliu, the passengers were safely evacuated to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Jetty for medical checks before being handed over to the Marine Police for reunification with their families.
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In a related development, the Navy intensified its anti-crude oil theft operations on Wednesday, deactivating multiple illegal refining sites in Rivers and Delta States.
At Obodo Omadino Community in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, personnel of FOB Escravos dismantled two illegal refining sites, while troops of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) PATHFINDER uncovered three cooking ovens, six reservoirs, and dugout pits filled with stolen crude and illegally refined diesel around Bakana and Isaka areas of Rivers State.
Similarly, FOB Bonny personnel destroyed another active refining site at Eyamba Community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, while NNS DELTA troops deactivated a site at Opumani Creek, Warri South, Delta State.
Adams-Aliu said the operations underscored the Navy’s resolve under the leadership of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, to secure the nation’s maritime domain, protect critical assets, and sustain the fight against oil theft and other forms of illegality along Nigeria’s waterways.
By PRNigeria
