Oil production vessel “Trinity Spirit” explodes off the coast of Nigeria

An oil production ship able to store about 2m barrels of oil explodes; second major environmental blow in 3 months

The Trinity Spirit, an oil production ship with about 2 million barrel oil storing capacity, exploded off the coast of Nigeria early Wednesday. There are no fatalities reported yet.

Leased by Shebah Exploration & Production Co. (SEPCOL), the FPSO Trinity Spirit, which can process up to 22,000 barrels a day, is a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel located in Warri southwest, Niger Delta. SEPCOL is in receivership, a form of protection from bankruptcy.

Attempts are being made to have the situation under control, albeit it’s the local community that is helping more alongside Chevron, which has a facility nearby. Investigations are being carried out to figure out the cause of the explosion.

“At this time there are no reported fatalities, but we can confirm that there were ten crewmen onboard the vessel prior to the incident and we are prioritising investigations with respect to their safety and security,” he said.

This is the nation’s second major environmental blow in the past three months, the first being in early November when a well operated by Aiteo Eastern E&P Co. blew off spewing hazardous oil and gas into the environment.

 

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