NIMASA investigates barge explosions in Rivers community

A series of barge explosions recently occurred in Rivers State, causing significant pollution and affecting fishing communities near Cawthorne Channel 1 and Alakiri Kulama.

The Head of Public Relations at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Mr. Osagie Edward disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

He explained that a preliminary report from the NIMASA Search and Rescue Team indicates that, while the full extent of the pollution is yet to be determined, communities such as Ayo-Tamuno, Miebaka, and others nearby may have been impacted.

Edward highlighted that NIMASA’s accident investigation team, which collected samples from the incident site, confirmed that a visible oil film covers a large portion of the water surface.

He mentioned that the investigation also revealed that all affected barges were laden with crude oil at the time of the explosion.

“At approximately 14:10 hours on February 19, a fire broke out on the dry crude storage barge BESTAF5 at Cawthorne Channel 1, spreading to other barges. The affected vessels include the Goshen Link fuel barge, owned by Geonofeg Resources Limited, and the Godgift fuel barge,” Edward said.

Speaking on the incident, the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Dayo Mobereola, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to maintaining cleaner waters within Nigeria’s maritime domain.

“We will work closely with other relevant government agencies and host communities to manage the environmental impact of this incident. Our team has conducted multiple site visits, and these will continue until a final report determines both the immediate and underlying causes of the explosion. Learning from this event is critical to preventing similar occurrences in the future,” Mobereola stated.

The DG emphasized that while pollution control is a priority for NIMASA, the agency remains committed to pollution prevention as the ultimate safeguard for Nigeria’s marine environment.

The explosion occurred at Cawthorne Channel 1, at coordinates Latitude 4.575579° and Longitude 7.064638°.