The Nigerian Navy says it has destroyed over 60 illegal refineries and barges in Rivers State within the last six months.
The Commander, NNS Pathfinder, Commodore Duja E. Effedua disclosed this while briefing journalists on the achievements of his Command at NNS Conference Hall, Rumuolumeni near Port Harcourt last Wednesday.
Commodore Effedua said that the rate of oil theft in the region had reduced since his assumption of office.
His administration, he further said was determined to fight illegal bunkering and oil theft across the coastal areas of the state, and indeed, Niger Delta region.
He said, the Navy’s plan was to check criminal activities of barge owners and mimimise oil theft.
“The business is no longer fruitful, not that it is over but they no longer operate here in Rivers creeks. They are now in Bayelsa, Delta and Akwa-Ibom States.
“Everyday, they are coming out with new ways; we will also device new strategies to check them. The youths who are involved in the illegal business are only marking time with their life because the effects of their actions in their body system is devastating”, he stated.
Commodore Effedua said that the persistent confrontation of the oil thieves by the men and officers of the command had forced the “hoodlums” to shift operations to other states.
He called for public enlightenment to educate all on the negative impact of illegal bunkering on the society, noting that to win the battle, all persons must be positively involved.
He disclosed that there were still unclaimed barges seized by the Navy for many years, adding that their continued stay in the waterways had become a major challenge to the Navy.
Effedua assured that the Navy would continue to provide a comfortable working environment and reduce the level of piracy across the waterways through constant surveillance of the waterways and creeks while soliciting for support and co-operation among members of the public.
In another development, the Commander of the NNS Pathfinder, Commodore Duja Effedu, yesterday  said the command arrested a suspected six-man oil bunkering syndicate behind the various pipeline ruptures in Rivers State.
Effedua, who made this known, when he presented the suspects to newsmen, said they were arrested during a routine patrol of the Nkpodiagha Creek, Aker Base, Port Harcourt.
He said that items recovered from the suspects include a 33,000-litre capacity tanker with registration number Lagos GGE 934 XS suspected to have been used in transporting crude oil.
The commander said the NNS had also seized two pumping machines, a long hose and two large wooden boats containing petroleum products suspected to be Automated Gasoline Oil.
He said the  boats were destroyed at  the crime scene, adding that the suspects would be handed over to the police soon,  for further investigation and possible prosecution.
Effedua said that through the inter-security collaborations, the spate of pipeline vandalism and illegal bunkering had reduced drastically in the state.

Chief Executive Officer, New York Stock Exchange, Mr Larry Leibowitz (left), presenting a souvenir to President Goodluck Jonathan, during the President’s visit to New York Stock Exchange in New York last Monday.