The incident occurred last Wednesday (2/2), but the only public statement from the operator was the following day:
“At this time there are no reported fatalities but we can confirm that there were 10 crewmen on board the vessel prior to the incident and we are prioritising investigations with respect to their safety and security,” SEPCOL Chief Executive Ikemefuna Okafor said in a statement.
That statement has been contradicted by at least 2 Nigerian press reports:
Meanwhile, three persons have been confirmed dead while eleven others declared missing following the explosion. Sources told reporters in Warri yesterday that three bodies had been recovered while 12 others were yet to be accounted for at the time of filing this report.
This Day
Daily Trust had, however, gathered that three Seafarers working onboard the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility may have lost their lives in the fire
Daily Trust
The only public statement by the Nigerian regulator (NUPRC) echoed the SEPCOL statement:
“There has been no report of any casualties or fatalities and the Commission will take necessary measures to ensure that all safety and environmental measures in line with global best practices to safeguard lives and the environment are put in place.”
Comments:
- Apparently, the fate of the workers was unknown, and the “no report of any casualties” comments were misleading and inappropriate given the gravity of the situation.
- Neither the operator nor the regulator have provided any update on the number of workers safely recovered or missing, or the status of any ongoing search.
- There is not a single mention of the fire on either the operator or regulator website.
- There seems to be uncertainty about the size of the crew at the time of the incident.
Troubling comment from a ship captain quoted in the Daily Trust article:
It was an accident waiting to happen since 2017. It should not even have been allowed to stay or operate in Nigerian waters.
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 
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