Nigerian Navy personnel have saved the lives of 20 crew members onboard Motor Vessel (MV) CHIMBA EXPRESS involved in fire accident along Calabar waterways.
The crew were saved in a coordinated rescue operation by Nigerian Navy
on Monday December 22nd, 2025.
A statement by the Director of Naval Information Commodore A Adams -Aliu said the crew rescue follows an operation that commenced at about 1pm when Nigerian Navy Ship OSE on routine sea patrol received a distress call from the endangered vessel.
On arrival at the scene, it was observed that some crew members had jumped overboard while others were stranded on the exposed deck.
Through a coordinated effort of NN personnel from NNS OSE, Naval Security Station 030 and Forward Operating Base IBAKA, 20 crew members were rescued while a search operation was initiated for one person who is the Chief Engineer. It has been confirmed that there were only 21 persons onboard MV CHIMBA EXPRESS.
While concerted efforts are ongoing to locate the missing Chief Engineer, the successful rescue of 20 persons underscores the visionary leadership and strategic direction of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, (Admiralty Medal) whose vision is to develop a modern, agile and professional naval force dedicated to securing Nigeria’s maritime domain..