A boat carrying Kula residents capsized during an effort to move an oil storage vessel in Nigeria’s Rivers State, leaving seven dead by the community’s count as residents opposed its removal.
The Office of Kula Kingdom media team said in an Oct. 25 statement that searchers recovered the final two bodies on Oct. 24. It said eight other people survived. The seven-body figure is lower than the earlier community estimate of at least 10 dead and seven missing, reported in EconoTimes’ initial coverage.
Community accounts date the capsize to Oct. 20. The Rivers State Police Command confirmed the incident, and spokesperson Agabe Blessing Kaborlo said police were investigating the casualty count and the circumstances.
The Kula Kingdom media team also said the community had taken control of the oil storage vessel ANAMBRA BASIN FSO and tugboats Delta Runner and Laura-V. That claim has not been independently confirmed.
The community said residents opposed the vessel’s removal over allegations of oil pollution and unresolved compensation claims. Max Shipping Services Limited said it owns ANAMBRA BASIN FSO and hired it to Menal Technical Services Limited. The company said prolonged unpaid hire fees prompted its retrieval effort and denied responsibility for the capsize. It also said the hirer was responsible for community arrangements and the vessel’s removal.
Channels Television reported that state officials received residents who brought recovered bodies to Government House in Port Harcourt on Oct. 22 and appealed for calm. Punch reported that search team leader Sukubo Sara-Igbe Sukubo threatened a 21-day protest beginning the following week, without specifying a day.
