Navy rescues 11 passengers from sinking boat in Bonny river, deactivates illegal refineries

The Nigerian Navy has rescued 11 passengers from a sinking speedboat along the Bonny River, Rivers State.

The Navy said the boat had departed Nembe Waterside Jetty in Port Harcourt enroute Coal Beach Jetty in Bonny Island, when it developed engine failure midstream and began taking in water near the Federal Ocean Terminal, Onne, Rivers State.

In a statement issued by the Director of Naval Information, Commodore Aiwuyor Adams- Aliu, the rescue operation carried out by personnel of Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base Bonny under heavy rainfall averted what could have been a major tragedy.

He said all rescued passengers—six males and five females—were safely taken to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Jetty for medical checks and subsequently handed over to the Marine Police for reunification with their families.

The Navy described the swift response as a demonstration of its unwavering commitment to safeguarding the nation’s maritime environment.

“On Tuesday, 4 November 2025, personnel of the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base Bonny rescued 11 passengers from a sinking speedboat along the Bonny River. The boat, which departed Nembe Waterside Jetty in Port Harcourt enroute Coal Beach Jetty in Bonny Island, developed engine failure midstream and began taking in water near the Federal Ocean Terminal, Onne, Rivers State.

“The swift response of the Forward Operating Base Bonny patrol team under heavy rainfall prevented a major tragedy, and all rescued passengers—six males and five females—were safely taken to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Jetty for medical checks and subsequently handed over to the Marine Police for reunification with their families, ” the statement reads in part.

In a seperate operation, the Navy said it has intensified its anti-crude oil theft operations across the Niger Delta region with the deactivation of many Illegal refining sites in four different locations on Wednesday.

It said personnel of Forward Operating Base Escravos deactivated two illegal refining sites at Obodo Omadino Community in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, while the Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder patrol team uncovered and deactivated an illegal refining site containing three cooking ovens, six reservoirs, sacks, jerrycans, and dugout pits filled with stolen crude oil and illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil around the Bakana and Isaka general areas of Rivers State.

Similarly, Forward Operating Base Bonny personnel dismantled an active illegal refining site at Eyamba Community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State, and the Nigerian Navy Ship DELTA patrol team deactivated another site at Opumani Creek in Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State.

According to the Navy these operations underscored the Nigerian Navy’s renewed efforts under the leadership of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas to ensure maritime safety, protect critical national assets, and promote lawful economic activities while sustaining the efforts to eradicate crude oil theft and all forms of illegality within Nigeria’s maritime domain.