•Dismisses claims of operational failure of oil firm’s equipment
•Says his vessel struck debris during movement
•Describes incident as ‘small’
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
Fresh details have emerged over the reported barge accident at the Nembe Creek facility in Bayelsa State, with the owner of the vessel involved in the incident revealing that it was caused by a minor mishap involving his barge.
He explained that the incident was in no way connected to the operations of Nembe Exploration and Production Ltd., formerly Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Ltd, contrary to some media reports.
Principal of Fazal Environmental Company, Mr Ebikeme Sokere, in a chat with THISDAY yesterday said the vessel was moving when it struck a broken block or debris, resulting in the incident, which he described as ‘minor’.
He specifically rejected any suggestion that Nembe Exploration or its predecessor, Aiteo, was responsible for the accident, stressing that the vessel belonged to his company and was not an operational crude-loading asset of the oil producer.
“It wasn’t really a big issue. It was a small accident. It wasn’t a serious matter. The barge was moving, then it hit a broken block or debris,” Sokere said. “It had nothing to do with Aiteo. It’s my barge, nothing to do with Aiteo,” he added.
His account is significant as the incident had initially been linked by the communities to crude-loading activities at the Nembe Creek facility operated by Nembe Exploration within Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29.
Environmental concerns surrounding the incident were heightened after the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) said it visited communities in the area and reported crude oil in waterways and along mangrove banks.
HOMEF subsequently demanded immediate cleanup, compensation for affected residents and full accountability, citing complaints from fishing communities over damaged equipment, reduced catches and restricted access to fishing grounds.
But the account from the vessel owner, supported by sources familiar with the incident, presented a different picture of what happened and the identity of the party responsible, with the vessel involved being a contractor’s remediation barge deployed for activities separate from Nembe Exploration’s crude production and evacuation operations.
Persons familiar with the incident described it as misleading any attempt to directly associate the incident with Nembe Exploration’s crude-loading operations without first establishing the contractual relationship, operational assignment and circumstances under which the barge was deployed.
“This is just very misleading. Nembe Exploration and Production Limited has no business with whatever happened to that barge. Whoever made that assertion needs to check again,” a person familiar with the incident said.
Sokere, for his part, said he was prepared to provide additional information to Nembe Exploration or other interested parties seeking to establish the circumstances surrounding the accident.
“If Aiteo needs me to come and explain to these people, I will come. It was a small incident, not a major issue,” he said, expressing surprise that such a minor incident was being blown out of proportion.
He also offered to take interested representatives to the location where the incident occurred, saying an inspection of the site would make the circumstances clearer. “If you come anytime or any of your representatives can come, I will show them to the place,” he said.
Sokere further emphasised that the barge was his company’s property, dismissing any suggestion that it was an asset belonging to Aiteo or Nembe Exploration.
“It was my barge. The name has an Izon name meaning ‘my heart is my refuge’. These are my people,” he said.
But HOMEF had demanded an assessment, which it said should be followed by compensation for verified economic and livelihood losses, particularly for fishing households whose nets, fishing equipment and access to fishing grounds were affected.
According to HOMEF, the incident spread through interconnected waterways as a result of tidal movements, raising concerns among communities that depend substantially on fishing for food and income.
Vice-Chair of Nembe Creek women, Mrs Love Mark, specifically said residents were struggling to replace damaged fishing equipment.
HOMEF Executive Director, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, had also called for affected communities and fishing camps to be incorporated into investigations, damage assessments, cleanup and subsequent environmental monitoring.