Three dead, three alive after Nigeria oil vessel fire

The operator of a Nigerian oil vessel that exploded and sank last week said on Monday three bodies had now been recovered, three found alive while four were still missing after the accident.

The Nigerian FPSO Trinity Spirit -- a floating production, storage and offloading vessel -- caught fire following an explosion on Wednesday, but the blaze was extinguished a day later.

The vessel was located at the Ukpokiti Terminal, along the coast of the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Ten crew members were on board the vessel at the time of the accident.

Ikemefuna Okafor, the executive officer of Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL), the vessel owner, said "two further dead bodies were discovered on the deck of the vessel," in addition to one corpse recovered earlier on Sunday.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of all the victims of this unfortunate incident, and we are on hand to provide support to them as required," he said.

"Thus far, the potential total number of the crew members accounted for is six, including the three persons who were found alive last week," he said.

Okafor said efforts would be intensified in search of the remaining missing crew members.

"Our priority remains focused towards establishing the whereabouts, safety, and security of the four crew members still missing."

The vessel had a processing capacity of 22,000 barrels per day and a storage capacity of two million barrels, according to the company's website.

Environmental campaigners have expressed fears of spills.

Idris Musa of the country's spill detection agency NOSDRA told AFP on Sunday there had been "no spill incident yet other than emulsified oil in small quantity."

Nevertheless, he said the agency was "watching more closely".

Despite being Africa's largest crude producer, accidents are frequent in Nigeria's oil and gas industry, although they usually occur on land.