The FPSO Trinity Spirit, an oil storage and production vessel, burst in Nigeria last week, killing at least five individuals and leaving four crew members missing, according to the operating company.
The ship had ten crew members on board when it detonated on Wednesday, according to Nigeria’s Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL), three of whom were discovered dead on Sunday after three were discovered alive last week.
“Our top priority is determining the whereabouts, safety, and security of the four crew members who have yet to be found,” the business added.
After the consortium handling the oilfield, which included SEPCOL, lost its production license in 2019, the Trinity Spirit floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel was not producing oil at the time of the blast.
Prior to the explosion, two oil industry sources and an environmental group said the tanker was old and poorly maintained. According to one report, large trading businesses have stopped storing crude there.
Requests for a response on the claims have gone unanswered by the company.
The tanker had been storing roughly 50,000-60,000 barrels of petroleum, significantly below its capacity of 2 million barrels, according to Nigeria’s environment minister on Saturday.
On Monday, the government’s National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency conducted a second aerial survey.
