ONEP calls for transparent inquiry into Prospector 5 sinking
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Directinfosgabon
After the Prospector 5 sank off Mayumba, the National Organisation of Oil Workers (ONEP) is asking to join the crisis unit and demanding a transparent investigation. The union says that three of the five missing people are Gabonese employees and members of the organisation, according to an ONEP statement.
The National Organisation of Oil Workers (ONEP), a trade union for oil-sector workers in Gabon, is calling for a transparent investigation into the sinking of the Prospector 5 off Mayumba. As the search for the missing people continues, it is asking for the results of the technical investigation establishing responsibility to be made public, according to a statement by ONEP reported by Directinfosgabon.
The union said that three of the five missing people are Gabonese and active members of the organisation. These workers, previously employed on precarious service-provider contracts, obtained permanent contracts with Borr Drilling in March 2024 after ONEP’s demands for the application of Law 20 on the provision of personnel.
ONEP is asking to be officially included in the crisis unit set up by the authorities, in the name of tripartism between the government, employers and workers. It is also calling for the publication of the findings of the technical, administrative and judicial investigations into the explosion at Perenco’s Bécuna platform, which killed six people on 20 March 2024.
The request comes after an investigation into the sinking was opened, as announced on 25 October, and after the Patriotic and Popular Rally (RPM) called for responsibility to be established on 26 October. Investigation opened after Prospector 5 sinking
