A tragic accident struck the Nigerian Navy on Thursday night when a gunboat carrying 15 people—naval personnel and civilians—capsized along the waterways of Escravos, in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.
At least six individuals, including a naval commander, two National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members attached to NNS Delta, Warri Naval Base, a civilian driver, and two naval personnel, were confirmed dead. Authorities have also declared three others missing, including two naval personnel and one female youth corps member.
The vessel was en route to a naval formation near the Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) facility when it overturned around 7:45 p.m., according to a leaked internal memo titled “FOB Escravos Special Sitrep As At 032330 Jul. 25.”
“The Epenal gunboat (DE 24) capsized at coordinates Lat 05° 36.408’N, Long 005° 11.982’E, in front of Chevron Nigeria Limited. It was conveying 9 naval personnel and 6 civilians from FOB Escravos to their hotel in Arunton when the incident occurred,” the report read.
A search and rescue team responded swiftly, recovering 12 people—seven personnel and five civilians—from the water. Sadly, six of them were pronounced dead on arrival at Chevron’s medical facility in Escravos.
The Nigerian Navy, along with support from Chevron and local authorities, has launched a continuing search operation to locate the remaining three missing victims.
As of Saturday, six survivors were receiving medical attention at the Chevron clinic in Escravos.
Though the cause of the incident is yet to be officially disclosed, naval sources suggested weather conditions and possible technical malfunction may have played a role. The Nigerian Navy is expected to open a formal investigation in the coming days.
This tragic event has cast a shadow over the naval community in Warri, especially at NNS Delta, where two of the deceased corps members were serving their country.
