Maritime Security and Safety
Navy Nabs Two Oil Tankers in Niger Delta, Seizes ₦4BN in Stolen Crude — 26 Arrested
Navy Nabs Two Oil Tankers in Niger Delta, Seizes ₦4BN in Stolen Crude — 26 Arrested
By Okeoghene Onoriobe, Waterways News
The Nigerian Navy has struck a major blow against crude oil theft in the Niger Delta, intercepting two product tankers — MT Mkpodu and MT Westaf AF — laden with over 939 metric tonnes of suspected stolen crude oil with a combined street value exceeding ₦4 billion.
Twenty-six crew members were arrested in the operation, which the Commander of Operation Delta Safe, Rear Admiral Olugbenga Oladipo, confirmed during a press briefing in Calabar on Sunday.
Oladipo told journalists that the breakthrough followed credible intelligence received shortly after midnight on 8 April 2026, prompting naval assets to track and intercept both vessels at a wellhead within the Calabar/Akwa Ibom operational zone. One of the tankers, MT Mkpodu, was caught red-handed in the act of siphoning crude oil directly from the wellhead.
Naval and air power were rapidly mobilised. Nigerian Navy Ship NNS SHERE led the waterborne response while a naval helicopter provided real-time aerial surveillance, helping to secure the vessels offshore before they were escorted to base with reinforcement from additional naval units.
Oladipo described the seizure as a clear signal of the Navy’s zero-tolerance posture towards oil theft and economic sabotage, noting that the operation was executed in close collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Defence Headquarters.
The momentum did not stop there. Just two days later, on 10 April, another vessel — MT Steliosk — was apprehended in a follow-on operation, underlining what Navy commanders say is an accelerating joint-force campaign against crude oil theft across Nigeria’s territorial waters.
Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Chidozie Okehie, praised the operation and reaffirmed the Navy’s commitment — under the watch of Vice Admiral Idi Abbas — to sustaining pressure on criminal networks exploiting Nigeria’s offshore oil infrastructure.
Nigeria loses an estimated hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude to theft annually, a haemorrhage that has long undermined government revenues and oil company operations across the Niger Delta region. Sunday’s arrests signal that Operation Delta Safe is widening its operational net.