The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on Monday said it seized a vessel, MT JAZI, loaded with 1. 5 million litres of contaminated petroleum product while discharging at Nakem Jetty, Kirikiri, Lagos.
A Director in DPR, Mordecai Ladan, who disclosed this to newsmen in Lagos, said that the vessel was intercepted on February 11 while discharging at Nakam jetty.
Ladan, who was represented by Wole Akinmosoye, Lagos Zonal Controller, DPR, said that after much investigations by DPR it was discovered that the vessel did not have DPR authorisation to deliver product at the depot.
He said, “The vessel is still under the custody of the Nigerian Navy for more investigation. We wish to reiterate that DPR has no record of any product importation by Nakem.
“We also have no record of any arrangement of the facility with a third party for product storage at the time.”
Ladan said that the agency subsequently drew samples from the tanks at the facility for laboratory analyses, adding that it was confirmed that the product was actually off specification.
He said that the product failed all the basic parameters, “especially in regards to lour, flashpoint and specific gravity”.
Ladan said that the product being dumped at Nakem did not meet the standard specifications of any white product.
He said that the depot had been sealed by the agency since February 12 and the vessel MT JAZI in the custody of Nigerian Navy.
He said that the product would eventually be evacuated for quarantine by the appropriate government agency.
He said, “We wish to use this medium to reiterate our position on zero tolerance to illegal activities in the depots across the nation and unlanding of off-spec product in the facilities.
“As we have always stressed that depots operators should be reminded that the agency will not tolerate landing of products of untraceable source at the depots.”
The director said that the agency would continue to work to guarantee products’ integrity at the depots and forestall the flow of adulterated products into the retail outlets.
He advised depot operators to adhere to the existing laws permitting vessel berthing and discharge operations between sunrise to sunset.
