…Max Shipping denies oil spill allegations, distances Ibeto from dispute as police launch investigation
No fewer than 10 people are feared dead following a boat mishap at an oil facility in Robert-kiri, Kula community, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The incident reportedly occurred on Tuesday at Oil Mining Lease (OML) 55, when a community boat carrying about 10 people allegedly collided with a tugboat during a confrontation over the removal of oilfield equipment from the facility.
An elder statesman and member of the Board of Trustees of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, disclosed the incident to journalists in Port Harcourt.
In a voice message circulated to the media, Sara-Igbe said the victims were travelling in an engine boat when it struck a tugboat, causing the smaller vessel to sink.
The occupants, reportedly including community youths and two members of a private security group popularly known as Amama Soldiers, are feared drowned. None had reportedly been sighted following the incident, while the missing boat had yet to be located.
The Rivers State Police Command confirmed the incident but said investigations were ongoing to establish the exact number of casualties and determine the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
The police spokesperson, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Grace Agabe, said the command was aware of the reported loss of lives in Kula Kingdom.
“The Rivers State Police Command is aware of the incident in Kula Kingdom, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, which reportedly resulted in the loss of lives. Investigation is ongoing to ascertain the exact number of casualties and the circumstances surrounding the incident,” she said.
Explaining the circumstances leading to the incident, Sara-Igbe said the dispute arose from disagreements over alleged oil spills, compensation and employment opportunities involving operations at OML 55.
According to him, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Belemaoil joint venture had, about two years ago, engaged a vessel belonging to Chief Cletus Ibeto for use as a crude oil storage tanker at the facility.
He identified the vessel as MV ANAMBRA, which he said was subsequently used to store crude oil from the oilfield.
Sara-Igbe alleged that oil spills occurred around the area during the operations, prompting the community to demand compensation and employment opportunities for its members.
He claimed that the community had complained that none of its members had been employed by the company during the two-year period and that its demands for compensation had not been met.
According to him, tensions persisted until the contract with NNPCL reportedly ended recently, after which the community insisted that the company should not remove its equipment from the site until the outstanding issues had been resolved.
Sara-Igbe said he intervened after being informed of the disagreement and advised the company to reach a peaceful settlement with the community before removing its equipment.
He claimed that discussions and appeals eventually led to an agreement to resolve the dispute.
However, he alleged that he received information on Tuesday that gunboats had been deployed to facilitate the removal of the equipment, triggering resistance from community members.
“While expecting to hear that the company had complied with the settlement as agreed, the news I got this morning (Tuesday) was that he had gone to hire Army Gunboats to forcefully take their equipment from the site, but the community resisted the attempt and in the process one of the boats by the community hit one of the Tug-boat and the boat sank,” he said.
Sara-Igbe further alleged that six gunboats deployed during the operation left the area after the community boat sank without attempting to rescue its occupants.
The circumstances surrounding the alleged deployment of the gunboats and the reported failure to undertake rescue efforts had yet to be independently established as of the time of filing this report.
Meanwhile, Max Shipping Services Limited has expressed sadness over the reported loss of lives but denied allegations linking its vessel to oil pollution at the facility.
The company, through its legal adviser, Chidinma Ikenna, said it considered it necessary to clarify its involvement following reports connecting its vessel, ANAMBRA BASIN FSO, to the incident and the dispute in Kula.
Ikenna said Max Shipping Services Limited owned the vessel but was not the operator of the oilfield or the company responsible for the underlying petroleum operations in the community.
She explained that the vessel had been hired to Menal Technical Services Limited under a Marine Equipment Hire Agreement dated September 20, 2024, which was subsequently amended through an addendum.
According to the company, its contractual relationship concerning the vessel was with Menal Technical Services Limited, not directly with the host community or the operators of the oilfield.
“We were not a party to the separate operational arrangements that Menal or the end user may have had with the host community,” the company stated.
It added that, under the hire agreement, Menal Technical Services Limited assumed specified responsibilities relating to operational exigencies, community settlements, vessel and personnel security, and demobilisation.
Max Shipping also rejected allegations that its vessel had caused oil pollution in the area, citing inspection documents issued in September 2026.
According to Ikenna, reports by Checkirem and GSV Inspection Services Limited indicated that the inspected tanks were clean and free of crude oil at the time of inspection.
“Tank inspection documents issued by Checkirem and GSV Inspection Services Limited in September 2026 recorded that the inspected tanks were free and clean of crude oil at the time of inspection,” she said.
The company maintained that the inspection findings supported its position that the vessel did not contain crude oil when it was examined.
It also disputed attempts to link its principal, Chief Cletus Ibeto, to the disagreement at the facility and the circumstances surrounding the boat mishap, insisting that he was not responsible for the community dispute or the tragic outcome.
Max Shipping said reports concerning the incident contained allegations linking the vessel’s recovery operation to an oil spill, the deployment of armed personnel allegedly authorised by Ibeto, and the capsizing of a boat carrying people feared to have died.
The company maintained that its contractual responsibilities were distinct from those of the oilfield operator and the parties directly involved in community negotiations.
The incident has raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the attempted removal of equipment from the facility, the alleged deployment of armed personnel and the sequence of events that led to the boat collision.
While Sara-Igbe attributed the incident to the confrontation between the community and those allegedly seeking to remove the equipment, Max Shipping has sought to distance itself from the operational dispute and denied responsibility for the alleged pollution.
The police investigation is expected to establish the number of people who died or remain missing, determine how the collision occurred and clarify the roles, if any, of the parties involved.
As of the time of filing this report, the police had not announced a final casualty figure, and there was no official confirmation that the missing occupants had been recovered.
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