By Efe Onodjae

Five persons sustained injuries yesterday after a container vessel, MV Maersk Valparaiso, collided with an oil tanker, MT Lady Martina, at the Bonny Inner Anchorage in Rivers State, causing an oil spill in the area.

Confirming the incident, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, said the collision occurred at about 11:30 am. around Latitude 4.512375 and Longitude 7.189429 within the Bonny Channel axis.

In a statement issued by the Deputy Director and Head of Public Relations, NIMASA, Osagie Edward, the agency disclosed that its Deep Blue Forward Operating Base, FOB, in Bonny received a distress call shortly after the incident involving MV Valparaiso, a Singapore-flagged container vessel, and MT Lady Martina, a Nigerian-flagged oil products tanker.

According to him, the agency immediately deployed 10 armed personnel onboard DB 214, one of the interceptor boats under the Deep Blue Project, to the scene for emergency response operations.

Edward stated that five crew members onboard MT Lady Martina suffered varying degrees of injuries and were immediately evacuated to the FOB Bonny sickbay for treatment.

He further disclosed that following the collision, MT Lady Martina drifted ashore and ran aground along the Bonny Channel, while MV Valparaiso also remained grounded at the Bonny Inner Anchorage pending damage assessment and investigation.
He added that the management of Maersk has formally reported the incident to NIMASA.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, has ordered a full-scale investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the collision.

The agency also set up a Situation Monitoring Room to coordinate emergency response operations and monitor developments arising from the incident.
Mobereola, who was personally in Rivers State to inaugurate the situation room, directed the agency’s Marine Environment Management Department to immediately commence an Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA, of the affected area.

He also ordered urgent measures to contain the Tier 1 oil sheen and minimise environmental impact on the nation’s marine ecosystem.