A Floating oil Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel owned by Shebah Exploration and Production Company Limited (SEPCOL) with a capacity to process up to 22,000 BPD, and store 2 million barrels of oil, has exploded and sunk at the Ukpokiti Terminal, around Excravos, Warri South-west, Delta State. SEPCOL, owned by a combination of Nigerian and overseas corporate entities, which include: Abbeycourt Trading Company Limited (ATCO), Abbeycourt Petroleum Company Limited and Allenne Limited confirmed that the vessel TRINITY SPIRIT has exploded and has sunk below waters in the Niger Delta area of the country.
The TRINITY SPIRIT, was built in 1976 (46 years ago), with a carrying capacity of 274774 Dead Weight Tonnage (DWT) and overall length of 337.05 meters as well as a width of 54.5 meters.
As at the time of reporting, it is still very unclear if there were casualties due to the massive fire which erupted on-board the vessel, but it was learnt that about 10 persons were within the the facility when the incident occurred who had yet to be accounted for.
According to SEPCOL in a released statement titled “Fire Incident On The Trinity Spirit FPSO, - The management of Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL) in receivership, hereby announces the unfortunate incident of a fire that engulfed our offshore facility, the FPSO Trinity Spirit located at the Ukpokiti Terminal, following an explosion during the early hours of Wednesday, 2nd of February 2022.
“The cause of the explosion is currently being investigated and we are working with necessary parties to contain the situation.
“At this time there are no reported fatalities, but we can confirm that there were 10 crewmen onboard the vessel prior to the incident and we are prioritising investigations with respect to their safety and security.
“We have duly notified all relevant authorities and we appeal to the members of the public to stay away from the area while our crisis management team continues to monitor the situation and update all stakeholders with new information as the investigation evolves”.
SEPCOL also appreciated the assistance provided by the Clean Nigeria Associates (CNA), the Chevron team operating in the nearby Escravos facility and its community stakeholders as well as fishermen, who it said had been of tremendous assistance since the incident happened.
