Darlon Oil and Gas Limited in Bayelsa State has said it has impounded 10 speedboats and arrested 19 suspects for transporting illegally refined petroleum products on a creek connecting Olugbobiri community to the River Nun in the state’s Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
While handing over the 19 suspects and ten speedboats to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Yenagoa, Darlon chairman Chief Levi Wilson hinted that the task force recovered two Yahama 75 engines and eight Yahama 115 engines during the operation, which took place at 5:19 a.m. on June 7.
Wilson also appealed to the commandant of the corps to ensure that the suspects face the full wrath of the law, recalling that Darlon had recently sent a message of caution to speedboat drivers operating under the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) to check the use of their boats for transportation of illegally refined petroleum products.
According to him, the company had previously sent a cautionary message to MWUN because they saw it as a necessary step in combating pipeline vandalism and bunkering in the creeks.
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Artisanal crude oil refiners have resorted to using outboard engine speedboats to transport illicit petroleum products in batches on the waterways, according to Wilson, because wooden boats are too slow to beat the task force’s surveillance efforts.
He also warned that aiding and abetting pipeline vandalism and illegal crude oil refining had a negative impact on the people and environment of the Niger Delta.
The chairman of the Darlon Group also warned that speed boat drivers caught in the act of encouraging the transportation of illegally refined crude oil products would now face the full force of the law.
