How ‘Nigerian System’ Affects Honest Regulation in Maritime, Energy Sectors, by Expert
OIL TANKERS ON NIGERIAN WATERS
By Our Reporter
The sad story of the explosion of a floating oil production and storage vessel (FPSO) recently may be due to ‘system failure’ or better described as corruption in Nigerian system.
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This was the position of an expert who was reacting to the sad incident that occurred last week at an oil field in Niger Delta..
Reports have it that the vessel was built 46 years ago.
The oil vessel according to reports has been serving as the primary production facility in Nigeria’s offshore before the sad incident.
The expert who reacted to the incident on a social media platform linked what happened to the aging vessel as possibly “ a reflection of the systemic failure of the Nigerian system”.
He recalled his encounter with a captain from one of the regulatory agencies who was compelled to give a clean report on the vessel even when all was not well with her some years back.
He disclosed that having been laid up for the past five years then, the vessel was a “dead ship”, yet the client wanted the authorities to mobilize crew and sail her to the field in three days then.
The story was that while the captain objected to this, he was overruled when a phone call removed him from the vessel for another person to take over and do the bidding of the client.
Part of the comments of the captain in the social media platform reads:
“ As someone with over 25 years experience with FPSOs, from working on them, to building them and managing them in operation, I know one or two things about FPSOs, and the unenviable history of the ( oil vessel) is well-known within this sector of oil & gas the industry.
“To illustrate what I mean by the systemic failure of the Nigerian system, here is a short story. A few years back, a client asked us to take over the management of their AHTS. I happened to be around the port where the vessel was laid up, so I went onboard to have a look. On the bridge I saw a gentleman with a despondent and miserable look on his face. After exchanging pleasantries and introductions, I learnt he was a captain from (..) who was onboard to carry out survey.
“From the look on his face I could see he was confused and troubled. I asked him what the problem was, even though I had an idea of what it might be, because the vessel was a “dead ship”, having been laid up for the past 5 years. Yet the client wanted us to mobilize crew ASAP and sail the vessel to the field in 3 days!
“The captain pointed to a vessel that was just passing us in the harbour and said that that vessel belong to the same owner of the vessel we were on. He said he was on it a day ago for audit. When he saw the state of the vessel, he called the owner and told them that the vessel was not fit to sail. The owner made an offer which he refused. Then he was scolded and threatened that if he did not pass the vessel, he would be dealt with. Then 30 minutes later he got a call from Abuja to disembark the vessel. And so the vessel set sail to sea.
“The call to have professionals in the right places is well and good. In fact, it is critical and a good start. But it does not end there. For a rust bucket like the (oil vessel) to have remained in operation for many years in its condition would not have happened anywhere else. And perhaps no professional would have been able to stop it from remaining in operation, given the country we operate in
“Some professionals & technocrats have gone to government agencies and failed miserably because they could not perform. They either joined the system, or were forced or frustrated out. In cases where they managed to push through and implemented some changes, those changes were not sustained, they were overturned when their tenure expired. And this is what happens when the focus is on individual competencies without paring it with improving the system and institutional strengthening.
“The problem with the maritime industry does not end with having technocrats and professionals in the right places. It goes beyond that. And by the way, professionals are not only seafarers, as that seem to be the general view.
“Sorry for all this tirade, it is not typical of me, it’s just that FPSOs are my passion and when a sad event such as this happens, it is heart-breaking!”.
The story of the captain was a big shock to many on the platform.
In a reaction to the story, another member of the platform while expressing disappointment over this development said good leaders were those moved “with great compassion and render selfless services for humanity sake, and having a deep commitment and passion towards the upliftment of the nation and its system”.
He continued, “By whatever religious inclinations we may belong, the supreme being we reference ( provided not an occult practice) encourages us to serve mankind in whatever or wherever He has positioned us, and to do so with compassion and love.
“This is what it means to be a good leader, anything short of this amounts to playing to the gallery, propelled by parochialism, deliberate negligence and a mark failure.
“I am not a preacher, but one may have to resort doing so in the face of what is presently befalling us in our Industry.
“I began to ask myself, and by extension You; what’s the essence of our respective “acquired disciplines’ if we can’t add value to our industry or proffer solutions and follow it up till objectives are achieved?.
“May the souls of the innocent people who lost their lives in this avoidable industry tragedy and the souls of other departed faithful rest in peace.
May God grant their respective families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
May God not require the blood of the innocent from our hands.
Amen
“Finally, no amount of investigation and possible compensation from the authorities is worth the lives of the dead.
It therefore, behooves on leadership to be renewed in their spirit, being proactive in the discharge of their briefs. Placing value on human life.
Let compassion and love rule our hearts”.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has begun investigation into the cause of the fire incident into oil evacuation vessel
The sad story of the explosion of a floating oil production and storage vessel (FPSO) recently may be due to ‘system failure’ or better described as corruption in Nigerian system.
.
This was the position of an expert who was reacting to the sad incident that occurred last week at an oil field in Niger Delta..
Reports have it that the vessel was built 46 years ago.
The oil vessel according to reports has been serving as the primary production facility in Nigeria’s offshore before the sad incident.
The expert who reacted to the incident on a social media platform linked what happened to the aging vessel as possibly “ a reflection of the systemic failure of the Nigerian system”.
He recalled his encounter with a captain from one of the regulatory agencies who was compelled to give a clean report on the vessel even when all was not well with her some years back.
He disclosed that having been laid up for the past five years then, the vessel was a “dead ship”, yet the client wanted the authorities to mobilize crew and sail her to the field in three days then.
The story was that while the captain objected to this, he was overruled when a phone call removed him from the vessel for another person to take over and do the bidding of the client.
Part of the comments of the captain in the social media platform reads:
“ As someone with over 25 years experience with FPSOs, from working on them, to building them and managing them in operation, I know one or two things about FPSOs, and the unenviable history of the ( oil vessel) is well-known within this sector of oil & gas the industry.
“To illustrate what I mean by the systemic failure of the Nigerian system, here is a short story. A few years back, a client asked us to take over the management of their AHTS. I happened to be around the port where the vessel was laid up, so I went onboard to have a look. On the bridge I saw a gentleman with a despondent and miserable look on his face. After exchanging pleasantries and introductions, I learnt he was a captain from (..) who was onboard to carry out survey.
“From the look on his face I could see he was confused and troubled. I asked him what the problem was, even though I had an idea of what it might be, because the vessel was a “dead ship”, having been laid up for the past 5 years. Yet the client wanted us to mobilize crew ASAP and sail the vessel to the field in 3 days!
“The captain pointed to a vessel that was just passing us in the harbour and said that that vessel belong to the same owner of the vessel we were on. He said he was on it a day ago for audit. When he saw the state of the vessel, he called the owner and told them that the vessel was not fit to sail. The owner made an offer which he refused. Then he was scolded and threatened that if he did not pass the vessel, he would be dealt with. Then 30 minutes later he got a call from Abuja to disembark the vessel. And so the vessel set sail to sea.
“The call to have professionals in the right places is well and good. In fact, it is critical and a good start. But it does not end there. For a rust bucket like the (oil vessel) to have remained in operation for many years in its condition would not have happened anywhere else. And perhaps no professional would have been able to stop it from remaining in operation, given the country we operate in
“Some professionals & technocrats have gone to government agencies and failed miserably because they could not perform. They either joined the system, or were forced or frustrated out. In cases where they managed to push through and implemented some changes, those changes were not sustained, they were overturned when their tenure expired. And this is what happens when the focus is on individual competencies without paring it with improving the system and institutional strengthening.
“The problem with the maritime industry does not end with having technocrats and professionals in the right places. It goes beyond that. And by the way, professionals are not only seafarers, as that seem to be the general view.
“Sorry for all this tirade, it is not typical of me, it’s just that FPSOs are my passion and when a sad event such as this happens, it is heart-breaking!”.
The story of the captain was a big shock to many on the platform.
In a reaction to the story, another member of the platform while expressing disappointment over this development said good leaders were those moved “with great compassion and render selfless services for humanity sake, and having a deep commitment and passion towards the upliftment of the nation and its system”.
He continued, “By whatever religious inclinations we may belong, the supreme being we reference ( provided not an occult practice) encourages us to serve mankind in whatever or wherever He has positioned us, and to do so with compassion and love.
“This is what it means to be a good leader, anything short of this amounts to playing to the gallery, propelled by parochialism, deliberate negligence and a mark failure.
“I am not a preacher, but one may have to resort doing so in the face of what is presently befalling us in our Industry.
“I began to ask myself, and by extension You; what’s the essence of our respective “acquired disciplines’ if we can’t add value to our industry or proffer solutions and follow it up till objectives are achieved?.
“May the souls of the innocent people who lost their lives in this avoidable industry tragedy and the souls of other departed faithful rest in peace.
May God grant their respective families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
May God not require the blood of the innocent from our hands.
Amen
“Finally, no amount of investigation and possible compensation from the authorities is worth the lives of the dead.
It therefore, behooves on leadership to be renewed in their spirit, being proactive in the discharge of their briefs. Placing value on human life.
Let compassion and love rule our hearts”.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has begun investigation into the cause of the fire incident into oil evacuation vessel
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