Redfferm, Nigeria, 30 March 2009

In January 2012, the Secretariat was informed of an incident which occurred in March 2009 at Tin Can Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
The initial reports of the incident reported that the tanker MT Concep was trans-shipping some of its cargo of low pour fuel oil (LPFO) into a barge, the Redfferm, when at some point during trans-shipment, a spill occurred. However, further facts have since been made available to the Secretariat which clarify that it was the barge Redfferm which sank following the cargo trans-shipment and its cargo of between 500 and 650 tonnes of LPFO spilled into the waters surrounding the site, which then impacted upon the neighbouring Tin Can Island area.
The barge was subsequently raised with the assistance of a crane barge. Clean-up operations were conducted by African Circle who was contracted by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). In addition, other Government agencies including the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Oil Spill Defence Response Agency (NOSDRA) also attended to the spill.
In June 2012, the Director and members of the Secretariat visited Nigeria to ascertain further facts of the incident, meet with the shipowners and visit the affected area.
A claim has been filed against the 1992 Fund by 102 communities allegedly affected by the incident in the sum of US$26.25 million. Further information is contained in document IOPC/OCT12/3/13, issued by the Secretariat for consideration by the 1992 Fund Executive Committee at its 56th session.