The Beninese authorities fear the pollution of their waters and are taking action. A boat, flying the flag of Nigeria or Belize, depending on the source, ran aground a few meters from a busy beach in Cotonou. It is carrying tons of diesel. Motor pumps and tanker trucks are emptying it. On Wednesday, the maritime prefect gave an update on the incident.
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with our correspondent in Cotonou, Jean-Luc Aplogan
The urgent thing is to avoid any pollution, said the maritime prefect. The ship ran aground on the Beninese coast during the night from Saturday to Sunday after breaking its anchor. On board, more than 200 thousand liters of diesel. Pumping operations, very laborious at first, were immediately launched.
⛵ “On Thursday, June 25, 2024, the tugboat “SPSL UDEME” was detected by our new maritime surveillance system as well as by the national maritime operations center. The next day, at the sight of our marine rifle team, the ship tried to flee but (…) pic.twitter.com/CL2ajDv7Yp
— Government of Benin 🇧🇯 (@gouvbenin) July 3, 2024
They are ongoing and the authorities hope to finish them by Friday at the latest. After the pumping, the polluted oils will still have to be recovered.
Another measure is the ban on swimming. Water samples have been taken and are currently being analyzed according to the maritime prefect, Rear Admiral Maxime Ahoyo. We are waiting for the results to decide on the potential risks for populations and fishery resources. The results of these analyses are very important to know if there are additional measures to take. » Fishing was also banned.
In the first few days, any curious person who approached was greeted by a strong smell of diesel. This has faded today, according to the maritime prefect.
Regarding the boat, according to the first hearings and the investigation, it is suspicious. The activities of the SPL Udeme were unknown in Nigerian waters, it was observed in ‘dark mode’ i.e. carrying out illicit activities “.
The captain of the boat even lied about his itinerary. The entire crew, 15 Nigerians and 1 Beninese are in the hands of the criminal brigade.