Firm Wants NPA To Tackle Oil Pollution At Onne Port

The management of Brawal Oil Services based at Onne Port, Rivers State, has appealed to the Nigerian Ports Authority, (NPA), Onne Complex, to tackle the spate of oil spills on the Onne River caused by illegal oil bunkering.
Brawal said that the illegal activities by bunkers stained  their vessels and portrayed the company in a bad light before foreign vessel owners that berth in their terminals.
Brawal Deputy Branch Manager and Head of Commercial, Mr. Afam Emmanuel, disclosed this to The Tide at Onne Port  shortly after the visit of NPA Board members to the port.
Emmanuel said although the spill was not caused by NPA staff, the management of the port should stop the bunkers from spilling the crude on the river.
According to him, the spillage negatively affects the company’s operations and sometimes forces the company to pay compensations.
The manager insisted that the spills were thrown into the Onne River by the community’s hoodlums, thereby staining foreign vessels that berth at its jetty.
“Due to this unholy activities by the community youths, the company pays compensation to these vessels carrying cargo to their jetty”, he said
Emmanuel decried the unfriendly act by the local bunkers as it costs the company a lot of money to remove the stains from its owners
He appealed to the NPA management to check the ugly situation by deploying marine patrol boat and  Navy to arrest the perpetrators.
The spills, according to Emmanuel, is hazardous to health and aquatic lives, even as it is capable of causing accident on the water.
He urged the youths to desist from the act and engage in meaningful socio -economic activities to better their lives and the state.
He said the company had a cordial relationship with the management of the port, host communities and other terminal operators in the area.

Chinedu Wosu