Sola Adebayo, With Agency Reports
30 April 2003
Lagos — Negotiations are taking place to free as many as 100 foreign workers who are being held captive on four separate oil rigs off the Nigerian coast. Local employees took control of the platforms in deep water south of the Niger Delta, after some of their colleagues were sacked. Much of the information about what is happening on the rigs has leaked out through the families of those trapped on the rigs who have received calls and emails describing the situation.
A TRAPPED British worker's diary of events on a Nigerian oil platform hijacked by strikers tells the story of how a simple labour dispute degenerated into a virtual hostage crisis. The journal was compiled on the Sedco 709 rig in the Gulf of Guinea, which has been shut-down by strikers, and sent by e-mail to the worker's worried relatives in Britain.
The British Foreign Office said that 97 foreign workers were trapped on the Sedco 709 and three nearby rigs by the dispute.
At 8:15 am on April 19, Nigerian workers on the rig announced that they were going on strike after five members of their union were accused of theft. The situation did not seem dangerous. "The drill crew was asking for jobs to do, because they do not agree with the strike. The situation on the Sedco 709 is very quiet," the worker's journal reads.
"There are no disturbing PA announcements, the union members have not gone around the rig with the 'strike bell'. In fact, this is quietest start of the four strikes I have witnessed on the 709," it said. But the next day, when the workers heard that their colleagues had been sacked, the mood darkened.
"The news created an outburst of protest by the junior union members on the rig. A meeting was held after which the singing of union songs started ... the starboard crane boom was swung over the helideck," the diary said.
The strikers' union said it was not supporting the strike, but it went to a third day, with shipping containers being added to the crane boom to block the helicopter landing deck. "The rig is awfully quiet. One fire axe outside the camp boss' office went missing," the entry said. On day four of the strike, there was more tension as a helicopter landed on a nearby support ship and union reps refused to allow a supply ship to load a freezer container to go and fetch food.
"There does not seem to be any plan by NUPENG reps on the rig. Food stocks on the rig will last about another five to eight days."
After the fuss has died down, however, the strike committee announce that they are ready to suspend the strike. The helideck was cleared of obstructions and the workers headed peacefully to bed.
On April 23, management sent Sedco 709 a fax instructing the staff to prepare to "downman", to evacuate the platform. Rumour spread among the crew that police were being mobilised to re-take control. Crews three more nearby rigs also refused an order to come in to Port Harcourt to discuss the situation. The next day, management once more requested that the rigs downman, but anger and tension was rising. News came through of a car crash back on land in which four union members died.
"Most crewmembers link the unfortunate incident indirectly to the pressure and stress caused by the suspension of rig operations and decision to down man," the diary noted.
"The medic informed the OIM and DSV (rig officers) that the chief electrician experienced a nervous breakdown, due to the current situation," it said. The electrician was taken ashore by helicopter. News came in from the other rigs that another expatriate had been taken away after suffering a breakdown.
On April 25, a supply vessel brings food and equipment and is allowed to take back nine workers, but offficials on the rigs failed to persuade management not to seek a court injunction to end the strike. The injunction was served on the strikers on April 26, along with the news that four bailiffs were standing by in Port Harcourt escorted by three armed officers each ready to take control of the rigs. At 7:15 am union leaders tell rig officers they will resist any attempt to evict them. Rumours spread that a nearby supply vessel was carrying armed naval troopers.
"There was shouting, emotions were vented, some crew members started running around the rig with a a fire axe," the diary said.
"Reference was made to the fatal car accident, two containers were placed on the helideck and the crane boom was swung over. The lifeboats were shackled down to prevent them being launched," it said. "There was lots of shouting and threats made."
- Four feared dead in fresh attack on Itsekiri
Four persons were feared dead, Monday night, in fresh attack on Itsekiri community of Orere by men suspected to be Ijaw youths. Besides, 50 buildings were razed in the attack while other property worth millions of naira were destroyed.
Similar attack on Gbolokposo community, near Effurun, was aborted by soldiers and Itsekiri youths earlier the same day. Orere town, located in the heart of Benin River, is in Warri North Local Government Council of Delta State.
Armed Ijaw youths had stormed Orere town in speed boats in continuation of their violent protest of the alleged lopsidedness in the composition of electoral wards in Warri South-West Council of the state. Residents of the riverine town, especially the young ones, fled into the adjoining bush on sighting the invading youths alighting from their speed boats, at the jetty.
The Ijaw warriors who gained control of the town, reportedly killed three old women and a teenager, who could not muster sufficient energy to escape. They then proceeded to set houses on fire.
Before soldiers stationed in Koko, headquarters of Warri North Council, could reach Orere to restore sanity, about 50 buildings had been razed by the invaders. Property worth several millions of naira were either looted or burnt in the Monday's arson attack on the town.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2003 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
