The Nigerian navy high command has said its war ship, NNS Thunder only experienced brief distress and did not sink.

Navy’s disclosure followed a viral video by a man on sea, giving an impression that the war ship, a gift by American government to Nigeria in 2012 sank.

The naval spokesman, Commodore Ayo Vaughan, said the attention of the Nigerian Navy (NN) was drawn to the derogatory video circulating on social media platforms emanating from an unidentified crew member of a service boat, Motor Vessel (MV) PACESETTER, stating that Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS THUNDER) was under distress and MV PACESETTER was dispatched to rescue NNS THUNDER and possibly evacuate NNS THUNDER’s crew or tow the Ship.

Accordingto to the statement, “In the video, the MV PACESETTER crew member lamented on why a Nigerian Navy war ship should be in such a terrible and helpless situation at sea, calling on Nigerians to vote for a particular Presidential candidate otherwise the country will sink just like NNS THUNDER.

“Ordinarily, such a mischievous video would have been ignored in that it is clearly from an unpatriotic, clueless and unprofessional seafarer. But considering that such video is capable of being exploited for negative political gains at this electioneering period, the NN wishes to set the records straight for the benefit of all Nigerians.

The NN therefore wishes to call on the general public to jettison the video in totality. The public is also advised to desist from involving the NN in any form of politicking now and even beyond this election season as the NN remains apolitical and will not tolerate such careless mischief from individuals or groups.

“The Navy will focus on her statutory responsibility of safeguarding the nation’s maritime environment against all forms of criminality so that maritime trade and crucial offshore economic related activities thrive seamlessly.” Vaughan stated.