The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Tin Can Island Port Command, has said the vessel discharging crude oil products at the MRS terminal did so illegally after being sealed for incomplete documentation.

The Guardian learnt that a vessel, Mt Ny Maria, loaded with 81,200 metric tonnes of PMS arrived from the Lekki Deep Seaport on May 23 and berthed at Dantata Jetty also known as MRS.

Officers of the NCS enforcement operation stopped the discharge of petrol at the TinCan Island terminal of MRS at the day it berthed.

According to reports, the product was loaded from Dangote Refinery with the vessel said to have undergone port, customs, and immigration clearance before discharge began.

Speaking on the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the command, Oscar Ivara, told The Guardian that the allegations of attempted arrest of the vessel captain was false. Ivara said the vessel arrived from the Lekki Deep Seaport on May 23 and berthed at Dantata Jetty, for routine Customs checks. According to him, officers from the Customs boarding and rummaging unit discovered that the vessel’s documentation was incomplete during inspection.

He explained that one of the critical missing documents was the “last port clearance,” a mandatory document expected to accompany any vessel moving from one Nigerian port to another. “The vessel came from Lekki to Tin Can port without the complete documents. The most important among them was the last port clearance, which should have been issued at Lekki before departure,” Ivara said.

The Customs spokesperson added that Customs officers also sought evidence of temporary importation documentation, including bond papers and proof of duty payment, but the vessel’s representatives allegedly failed to provide them. “As a result, the enforcement unit gave them two days to regularise the documents, but the agent never returned,” he stated. Ivara further disclosed that Customs later received intelligence that the same vessel had commenced discharge operations at the MRS terminal despite being under Customs seal.

“Our enforcement officers were alerted that the vessel we had sealed was already discharging cargo illegally. Before any discharge operation, Customs must issue what is called ‘break bulk’ authority. That approval was never granted,” he said. The Customs spokesperson alleged that officers who moved to stop the operation faced resistance from security personnel stationed at the terminal, including mobile police officers and private security guards.

“On getting there, our officers were denied entry. There was serious resistance at the gate and a push-and-pull situation ensued while our officers attempted to stop the illegal discharge,” he explained. Ivara also alleged that officers encountered further obstruction while trying to leave the terminal after resealing the vessel.

“They blocked the gate again while our officers were exiting. The officers were attacked by security personnel, but fortunately nobody was injured,” he said. Reacting to reports that Customs officers attempted to arrest the vessel captain, Ivara described the claim as false and contrary to international maritime practice.

“It is an international offence to attempt to arrest a captain onboard a vessel. The officers involved are experienced and understand maritime procedures very well. That narrative is completely false,” he stated.

Ivara also denied allegations that Customs officials demanded money from the vessel operators. According to him, the enforcement action was carried out strictly on the directive of the office that initially sealed the vessel over documentation irregularities.

On the ownership of the crude oil cargo, Ivara said he could not immediately confirm whether it belonged to the Dangote Refinery, although he noted that preliminary information suggested the vessel may have departed from the refinery.