By Sylvanus OBASI
While the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA) joined the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and other maritime nations in celebrating the 2025 Day of Seafarers (DOS) event in Port Harcourt, Rivers state penultimate week, a Nigerian Seafarer, Haruna Jireh died unfortunately at Lagos coastal area.
Platform Reporters gathered that Haruna drowned and died on a vessel named MV KAOBIM (FSIV) which is owned by Alkanes Diaplous Ltd with head office in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.
The incident happened at Lagos coastal area near Tarkwa Bay on June 28, 2025 around 1:00am.
According to our investigations, the vessel was said to have run into a wreck due to tidal waves and started taking in water, and when the water ingress was getting too much, the crew decided to beach the vessel. After they beached the vessel, they were trying to cross from the vessel to Tarkwa Bay using a line; other crew members crossed, and while Haruna was trying to cross, he slipped and fell inside the sea.
Our sources revealed that while the crew members tried to rescue him, he had taken in so much water and was already bleeding from his nose as he passed away.
Meanwhile, when Platform Reporters contacted Alkanes Diaplous Ltd over the incident a week ago, a staff of the company by name Marrow confirmed the incident, but said the company does not want to talk to the media about it.
Image of the vessel involved in the accident that led to the death of Jireh Haruna
But responding to the press enquiry earlier sent to them by Platform Reporters, the Human Resources and Admin Manager of the company, Mr Success Ojo stated that the matter has been reported to the appropriate authority and that the company is complying with the authorities in the ongoing investigations.
The message read in part as follows: “We acknowledge the receipt of your mail. Currently, the case is undergoing investigations by the relevant authorities, and we are cooperating fully with these ongoing investigations. As such, given the situation, we are currently limited in the details we can share publicly, including with the press.
“As a responsible corporate citizen and employer within the maritime industry, we remain committed to upholding our obligations in line with applicable laws and standards”, Mr Ojo stated.
However, when Platform Reporters contacted the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) of NIMASA to confirm if the company self-reported the incident to NIMASA as expected, the NIMASA AIB department responded through NIMASA Head of Public Relations, Mr Osagie Edward, saying:
“The company did not report the incident to NIMASA on their own; the agency went after the company to obtain information about the incident”.
“The company-Alkanes Diaplous has been cooperative with the investigation so far”, NIMASA stated.
Further more, speaking to Platform Reporters over the matter, a marine professional, Capt Dr Fola Ojulatyao gave some insights on what ought to be done when a crew member dies onboard a vessel.
He said, “When an accident happens onboard, and it leads to the death of a crew member, the vessel owner is expected by law to report the incident to NIMASA as a regulatory authority, report to Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) if the deceased crew member is a rating or report to Merchant Navy Association if the person is a seafarer; and also report to the insurance company covering the vessel”.
“While, NIMASA is expected to immediately begin proper investigation into what truly caused the accident with a view to forestalling future occurrences, the MWUN or Merchant Navy Association is expected to monitor the ship management company and the insurance company to ensure that adequate compensation is paid to the family of the deceased”.
Dr Ojutalayo further revealed that why some ship management companies tend to cover up such incidents and never want it reported or investigated is because in some cases, the investigation could indict the ship management company for either engaging in illegal operations as at the time the incident happened or for compromising safety standard of their vessels or other operational laxities.
Be that as it may, only proper investigation by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA) together with marine police will unravel the truth about the incident and the circumstances that led to the death of Haruna Jireh, and maritime stakeholders expect NIMASA, MWUN and Merchant Navy Association to objectively look into the matter and ensure that the right thing is done, especially with respect to the deceased family getting adequate compensations.
