Laide Akinboade

DIRECTOR General of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, Mr Peter Idabor said the agency has bought a 19 pollcat oil spill response vessel to tackle the challenges of oil spillage in Niger Delta.

Idabor who made the disclosure in Abuja during a ceremony for the activation of Nigeria National Oil Spill Contigency Plan (NOSCP) said the vessel would soon arrive the country from the United Kingdom.

The vessel, he said, was purchased “to strengthen the oil spill response capability of Nigeria and indeed the 22 countries of Global Initiatives for West and Central Africa (GI-WACAF) project. This is line with global best practice in oil spill preparedness for effective management of oil spill, particularly tier-three level incidence”.

He stated that Shell Petroleum development Company (SPDC) oil spill contingency plan on tier-2 and 3 levels as a baseline operation to gauge the oil spill response preparedness of the company.

“The exercise enabled the agency to access and weigh itself on its capability to discharge this specialised and sensitive mandate as well as accessing the awareness of other government agencies towards their roles and responsibilities within the concept of the NOSCP,” he said.