Koko: Oil Theft Vessels Usually Switch Off Communication Device to Avoid Detection

•Says removal of buoys along shipping channels disrupting maritime safety in eastern ports

•Declares Onne nation’s fastest growing port 

•NPA rakes N127.2bn revenue in six months

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

As Nigerians continue to lament the country’s revenue loss to crude oil theft, the federal government yesterday disclosed that vessels stealing the country’s crude usually switch off identification device to avoid being detected by the regulatory authorities.

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Koko, who made this known yesterday, while briefing newsmen at the State House, Abuja, stressed that rogue vessels that are used to steal crude oil in the Niger Delta usually turn off their Automation Identification System (AIS) to avoid detection in Nigerian territorial waters.

He explained that such ships evade arrest because they switch off their onboard automated tracking system that displays the vessel’s position and others in the vicinity.

“The intelligence persons bringing in vessels to steal crude, one of the things they do is, they shut down the AIS. This is what is needed in terms of transmission for you to even know, when the vessel comes in and the location they go to. They come in legally but then they go by the left hand side to commit illegal activities after switching of their AIS,” he added.

Koko said the NPA was in the process of procuring Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) to enable it identify, locate and monitor all vessels in the nation’s waters.

According to him: “We are going ahead to deploy the VTS and to also have information in terms of vessel movement.”

He added that the NPA has been trying to acquire the VTS for about 10 years, saying a certified consultant has now been identified to take up the process and procure it before the end of the present administration.

Koko lamented that the pilfering and removal of buoys fitted on shipping channels in eastern ports to aid navigation were negatively affecting the maritime safety along the corridors.

According to him, many shipping companies are refusing to use the ports because of the absence of buoys needed to guide their movements in the waters.

The NPA boss said unknown members of host communities were responsible for the act leading to the disappearance of at least 25 this year alone, saying the agency has consequently met with various communities to appeal to their leaders to help safeguard the devices.

While explaining that the absence of buoys along the channels could cause vessels to run aground, he said they were hard to procure and deploy as each costs between N12 million and N20 million.

Koko also explained that vandals are attracted to the buoys because some of them have solar panels and sensors and, “there is a beacon light there that flashes at night. So the first thing they do is to vandalise that sensor, and then, you just have iron that has no light, and they can just drag it off without the sensors.”

According to him: “We can monitor it if it is not disconnected. A times, we send in our boats to go round scouting for it. And to also be fair to the communities, we have had some instances where the buoys were naturally taken away by nature, they went adrift, they ended up on the shore of some communities.

“And to be fair to them, they have actually called us a couple of times to tell us that there’s a buoy that has gone adrift and it is in our community. And we thank them for that.

“We believe probably the communities do not even know the individuals that are involved in these activities. So, we are monitoring the buoys. And that’s how we got to know how many are stolen any day it’s stolen.

“Because the captains are also taking vessels in and out of the water channels, they will naturally know when they can’t find the beacons on the buoys, meaning that something is missing, and they normally report it.”

Koko stressed that despite the challenges, everything was being done to make the ports in the eastern corridor, including Calabar, Port Harcourt, Onne, and Warri, attractive to investors.

He said the Calabar and Onne Ports are now ISO-certified and are seeing substantial increase in import and export traffic.

While emphasising that Onne was becoming the fastest-growing port in Nigeria, he said, “In terms of percentage input, Onne has done 11,800 metric tons half of this year. We are seeing that the increase in percentage is high, probably because it’s easier to do business in Onne now.

“And because we have deployed more equipment in Onne, more personnel, we have paid attention to ensure that we made the port more competitive. In terms of export also, there’s an export processing terminal within Onne itself.”

He disclosed that West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) operating in Onne  has invested more than $100m in terminal expansion, deployment of equipment and technology.

Koko further said the Authority generated N172.28 billion in revenue in the first half of 2022 with N92.9 billion transferred into Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).