By Godwin Oritse

CONTRARY to media reports that no help came the way of a distressed fishing trawler, the management of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, Limited has said that it responded by dispatching a long-range security boat to the location of the distressed vessel.

In a statement, NLNG also said that on getting there, the crew of the long-range boat found other sister vessels engaged in rescuing the crew of a distressed trawler, MV Orc IV.

The statement says: “On receiving the distress call at around 2107hrs on February 6, 2019, NLNG responded by dispatching a long-range security boat to the location. On getting there, the crew of the long-range boat found other sister vessels engaged in rescuing the crew of a distressed trawler, MV Orc IV.

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“The boat returned to base after confirming that the trawler boat crew had been rescued by sister’s vessels.

“At 1320hrs on February 7, 2019, after reports of a fishing boat on fire in the same location, NLNG sent a tug boat with fire fighting capabilities and two security boats. The tugboat put out the fire and the crew of the security boats doused small fires in the fish hold.

“In line with one of our core values of caring, we continue to exhibit care for people and the environment to enhance safety and sustainability through a partnership with relevant agencies.

“Recently, NLNG was recognised with “The Best Caring Company” award by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for its outstanding contributions to the realisation of the agency’s mandate on safety on the waterways, especially the Bonny-Port Harcourt sea route which borders our area of operation in Rivers State”.