Shebah Exploration and Production Company, SEPCOL, said two more crew members on board the oil vessel that exploded and sunk have been found dead.
Reports said 10 crew members were aboard the vessel when it exploded last week.
SEPCOL CEO Ikemefuna Okafor said in a statement that the two dead bodies were found on the vessel’s deck on Sunday, February 6, 2022.
“We can confirm today that two further dead bodies were discovered on the deck of the vessel in the afternoon of the same Sunday,” Okafor said.
“We have made incident reports to the police and relevant authorities to assist the ongoing investigation, and due process to establish the identities of the dead bodies is underway.
“We also reported that on Sunday morning, 6th February 2022, Nigerian Maritime Administration & Safety Agency, (NIMASA) notified us of a dead body found floating in the vicinity of the FPSO.”
SEPCOL had announced that three crew members were found alive, and one yet-to-be-identified dead body recovered from the vicinity of the FPSO.
The floating production, storage, and offloading, FPSO, vessel named ‘Trinity Spirit’ exploded last Wednesday with ten crew members on board.
Okafor explained that “per our previous statement, the fire burnt out completely as of Thursday afternoon, 3rd of February 2022, thus enabling closer inspection of the vessel. Working with the relevant authorities, stakeholders, and expert organisations, a Joint Investigation Visit, JIV, took place on Saturday, 5th February 2022.”
The company said it would clean up the area to minimise any damage to the environment while seeking to ascertain the exact cause of the explosion.
SEPCOL, however, sympathises with the families of all the victims of the incident and promised to provide support to them as required.
With the two late bodies found, the company said “the potential total number of the crew members accounted for is six, including the three persons who were found alive last week.”
“Our priority remains focused towards establishing the whereabouts, safety, and security of the four crew members still missing. Furthermore, our efforts are geared towards cleaning up the area to minimise any damage to the environment and seeking to ascertain the exact cause of the explosion,” Okafor said.
“Our Crisis Management Team will continue to monitor developments in the investigations and update all stakeholders with new information accordingly. We appeal to members of the public to keep away from the area and contact the company with any information that may assist our investigations.”
