The Nigerian Navy has lost one of its officers who led an operation to rescue 59 persons working from a dredging vessel, MV AMBIKA 4 at Okpobo Field near Okpobo River.
In a statement released, the Naval spokesman, Commodore A. Adams-Aliu, said the officer, Lt Cdr Gideon Yashim Gwaza, died while attempting to rescue the occupants on board the vessel. Adams-Aliu said the Nigerian Navy on July 30, 2024 received a distress call from MV AMBIKA 4, a dredging vessel working at Okpobo field contracted to Sterling Global Oil Limited. He stated that the vessel was at risk of sinking near the Okpobo River entrance, an area known to be turbulent at this time of the year.
Adams-Aliu claims that after that, the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base BONNY sent out a rescue team consisting of ten armed individuals in two interceptor boats, under the command of Lt. Cdr. Gwaza, the base operations officer, to carry out the rescue mission.
The force of the waves, according to Cdre Adams-Aliu, made it difficult to approach the stranded vessel, so another squadron of three boats was sent to support the rescue crew.
He continued by saying that additional equipment, including drones, Nigerian Navy Helicopters, one Nigerian Air Force Helicopter, and the Nigerian Navy Ship GONGOLA, were sent out for the search and rescue operation.
“Eventually, all 59 crew were rescued successfully but the Base Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Gideon Yashim Gwaza paid the supreme price,” he said
According to Cdre Adams-Aliu, the officer unintentionally went overboard during the roughly ten-hour rescue effort that began at midnight on July 29, 2024, and ended at 1000 hours on July 30, 2024.
