The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety
Agency (NIMASA) on Monday said it was still on the rescue operation for possible
survivors from the vessels collision incident. Ag. Director General of NIMASA, Haruna Baba Jauro, at a news
conference in Lagos, said the agency was investigating the cause of the
accident involving MT Elixir and MT Tank on Oct 19.
He said that all vessels around the area where the incident
happened had been asked to assist in continued search and rescue operation to
rescue those who might be trapped. Jauro also said that naval officers had been deployed to the
area to guard against possible pirate attacks.
Vincent Udoye, Director, Maritime Safety and Seafarers
Standards, said the rescue operation is on-going because there had been such
situations where some survivors were rescued days later.
He dismissed insinuations that NIMASA was not part of the
rescue effort. Udoye said the agency responded immediately it received the
distress alert by sending signals to its zonal office close to the area. He said a vessel within the Bonga field was able to pick up
a survivor because it was close to the accident area and had received the
signal from them.
Udoye said NIMASA had asked MT Elixir, which collided with
MT Tank and ripping through it, thereby causing it to sink, to assist with
advanced divers to access the sunk wreck in the 1500 metre deep water.
He, however, said that NIMASA had made efforts to ensure
settlement between both parties adding that the agency was not responsible for
compensation in matters of casualties. Tosin Kolawole, the managing director of Twinstomp Energy
Ltd., owners of MT Tank, however, said that besides losing their vessels, nine
crew members were dead. Three of the crew were rescued. A corpse was found
while the others remained missing.
Kolawole said his company was not satisfied with the level
of corporation given so far by NIMASA. He said NIMASA should ensure a thorough investigation by
agencies of government saddled with the responsibility rather than do a
unilateral investigation. Kolawole requested that the police, the navy and possibly
the Nigerian army be involved in the investigation.
He said that the foreign vessel, MT Elixir, which is far
bigger than the MT Tank, should not be allowed to sail out of Nigerian waters
until justice was done. NIMASA on October 23 said its search and rescue team saved
and rescued three crew members and recovered one body from the collision
incident.
It said the collision, involving MT Elixir and MT Tank,
occurred midstream about 65 miles from shore, just 10 nautical miles south west
of the Bonga FPSO near Warri.
Source
Naij
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