--- title: "Huge Oil Tanker Explodes Off Coast of Africa" description: "An oil production and storage ship exploded off the Nigerian coast on Wednesday morning. The condition of the ten crew members on board is still unclear." date: "2022-02-03" modified: "2022-02-03" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/oil-tanker-explodes-africa" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "nigeria" - "oil spills" - "the digest" --- # Huge Oil Tanker Explodes Off Coast of Africa ![An oil production and storage ship exploded off the Nigerian coast on Wednesday morning. The condition of the ten crew members on board is still unclear.]() *\Image: BusinessDay via Twitter\* ## Oil Explosion An oil production and storage ship exploded off the Nigerian coast on Wednesday morning, [*Reuters* reports](). The condition of the ten crew members on board is still unclear, as well as how much of the vessel's two million barrel capacity of oil was on board at the time of the catastrophe. It's [yet another]() [oil vessel disaster]() that will likely result in huge amounts of toxic oil being released into the ocean, a stark reminder of our continued reliance on fossil fuels and the very real risks involved in its production. Videos [emerged on social media]() reportedly showing the aftermath of the explosion, with a massive dark cloud of billowing smoke emanating from the sinking ship. https://twitter.com/BusinessDayNg/status/1489150838392168452 ## Environmental Disaster But given previous disasters, the risk of an environmental disaster is pretty high. "From the environment angle, we are putting in efforts to prevent damage beyond the current burning of the contents," Idris Musa, director general of Nigeria's National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, [told *Bloomberg*](). "We got information of the fire incident yesterday and we immediately ordered our field officers to commence investigation," Gbenga Komolafe, CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), told *Reuters*. "Investigations are still ongoing." The vessel was being leased by Shebah Exploration & Production, which, according to the country's state-owned records, had not been producing oil in 2020 or 2021, *Bloomberg* reports. The NUPRC also announced in mid-2019 that it had revoked the producer's license. **READ MORE:** [Nigerian oil production and storage vessel explodes]() \[*Reuters*\] **More on oil:** *[UAE Bans Drones After Drone Used in Attack on Oil Facility]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()