An absolutely massive Oil tanker, with a capacity of up to two million barrels of oil, has exploded off the African coast near Nigeria. An incredible video shows the result of the huge blast with the entire ship engulfed in flames and belching thick black smoke into the sky. The firm that owns the vessel, the Trinity Spirit, has told the press that the ten crewmen aboard at the time of the explosion are currently unaccounted for. The sheer scale of the explosion and the intense nature of the blaze makes their survival seem unlikely though.
More detailed reports from The Sun and The New York Post have claimed that Trinity Spirit exploded on the morning of February 3rd at the Ukpokiti oil field near the Niger River delta and the Escravos terminal in Nigeria. Ikemefuna Okafor, the CEO of Shebah Exploration and Production Company, Ltd. has told media outlets that the cause of the explosion is still under investigation.
“At this time there are no reported fatalities, but we can confirm that there were 10 crewmen on board the vessel prior to the incident and we are prioritizing investigations with respect to their safety and security,” he said.
“We have duly notified all relevant authorities and we appeal to the members of the public to stay away from the area while our Crisis Management Team continues to monitor the situation and update all stakeholders with new information as the investigation evolves.”
BREAKING — Oil Production Vessel Explodes Off the Coast of Nigeria#Nigeria pic.twitter.com/pbVXBHF3RF
— World Defense News (@WorldDfenceNews) February 3, 2022
Not Just An Oil Tanker, But A Production Facility
While early reports referred to the Trinity Spririt as an ‘oil tanker’ (no doubt for simplicity), the vessel is an FPSO or floating production storage and offloading unit, used to produce, process, and store oil offshore.
According to the Post,
“At the time of the explosion, it had about 50,000 barrels in storage and was not pumping crude from the Ukpokiti oilfield, according to an industry source active in Nigeria’s oil sector.
SEPCOL had its license to produce oil revoked in 2019 by Nigeria’s upstream regulator and is currently in receivership, a form of bankruptcy protection.
This is Nigeria’s second major environmental disaster in just three months, after a huge oil spill from a disused, capped well released 20,000 barrels of oil a day for a month in Nembe, Bayelsa state.”
This is the second major environmental disaster to strike Nigeria in the last three months and could have long-lasting repercussions for the Niger River delta for years to come.
