Disaster Averted as Oil Tanker, Container Vessel Collide Along Bonny River

May 21, 2026 Katherine Ashaolu

A major disaster has been averted after an oil tanker, MT Lady Martina, and a container vessel, MV Maersk Valparaiso, collided along the Bonny River in Rivers State, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said.

NIMASA’s Deputy Director, Head, Public Relations, Edward Osagie, who disclosed this on Thursday, May 22, 2026, revealed that five crew members of MT Lady Martina were injured during the collision which occurred close to the Federal Ocean Terminal, Onne Port.

**Deputy Director/Head, Public Relations, **NIMASA**, Edward Osagie**

NIMASA further disclosed that the incident occurred on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at about 11:30am, leading to an oil spill within the affected area.

According to the Agency, the Deep Blue Project facility of the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Bonny received a distress call immediately after the collision involving the Singapore-flagged container vessel, MV Valparaiso, and the Nigerian-flagged oil products tanker, MT Lady Martina.

A team from the FOB Bonny’s Deep Blue Project was swiftly deployed one of its interceptor boats, DB 214, with 10 armed personnel onboard, to the scene for emergency response operations.

The Agency informed that the five injured crew members onboard MT Lady Martina were evacuated to the FOB Bonny’s Medical Centre, where they received medical attention.

Following the impact, MT Lady Martina drifted ashore and ran aground along the Bonny Channel, while MV Valparaiso also remained grounded at the Bonny Inner Anchorage pending further assessment.

NIMASA added that the management of MAERSK officially reported the incident to the Agency, prompting the Director General of NIMASA, Dayo Mobereola, to order a full investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the collision.

The Agency also established a Situation Monitoring Room to coordinate emergency response efforts and monitor developments arising from the accident.

Mobereola, who was personally in Rivers State to inaugurate the monitoring room, further directed NIMASA’s Marine Environment Management Department to commence an Environmental Impact Assessment of the affected area and initiate measures to contain the Tier 1 oil sheen and protect the marine ecosystem.

NIMASA assured that further updates and findings from the investigation would be made public as events unfold.