Trinity Spirit FPSO, a Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading Vessel, allegedly exploded, causing raging fire and fear and threatening fishing activities in some of Nigeria’s riverine communities in the Niger Delta region of the country.
According to sources, a loud explosion was heard a few minutes to 1am on Wednesday morning. Also that the vessel produces crude oil and is situated around Meren, a North Field oil facility belonging to a multi-national oil and gas company ( name withheld) in the Escravos area of Warri southwest Local Government Area of Delta State.
The explosion allegedly caused serious fear among workers manning nearby oil facilities and fishermen in the area, who were still helplessly watching the raging fire at 7:50 a.m. when this report was filed.
One of the workers present said “The explosion is a threat to Nigeria’s ecosystem.”
“We have to look at it from the point of whether it is an active rig or not. It’s content matters. Irrespective of whether it’s an active rig or not, the fact that it has exploded is a threat to fishing in Nigeria’s riverine communities.
“That it exploded, it’s content are already spilled in the waters around communities close to where it exploded, and that means no fishing for these communities.
“How long are we going to continue with this trend? This is a loss to our riverine communities. That means they cannot fish due to this explosion.”
What could this mean for the surrounding residences as the water is their main source of livelihood?
This could mean a possible pause or even stop in economic activities in the area, which fishing occupies the top seat.