Nigerian Navy Gets New Warships from Suncraft International

The Nigerian Navy has taken delivery of two brand new warships, the Manta, 38 metre Offshore Patrol Craft (OPC), as well as two new helicopter gunships, the Augusta Helicopter all from Italy. The two naval vessels were received last weekend from the suppliers, the South East Asia based Suncraft International, by top naval personnel in Lagos. An elated Director of Naval Information, Commodore David Nabaida said that, the Nigerian Navy has taken delivery of two 38 metre Manta class Offshore Patrol Craft which would help beef up the Navy's capacity to protect offshore facilities including the Escravos, the Agbani, and the Bonga, in addition to the other platforms we have, to enable us maintain more presence at sea. He explained that, the two vessels will have the capacity to patrol and intercept any threat and to deal with the threat. With speed in excess of 30 nautical miles per hour he went on, the Offshore Patrol Boats would be able to patrol much of the nation's 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Already, the crew of the vessels have been designated and would soon commence training on board, the naval chief informed, adding, preparations for the commissioning of the warships into the Navy and the dedication of the helicopters are underway. The new vessels, Commodore Nabaida continued, are expected to operate in two squadrons, meaning that they would be going on patrol duties with two each of the 17 metre Manta boats procured from Singapore Technologies Marine (ST Marine), a premier shipyard providing turnkey shipbuilding, ship conversion and ship repair services to a worldwide customer base in the naval and commercial markets. He made it known that, the four 17 metre Manta boats were received into service last year. Already, the suppliers of the two new Patrol Crafts, are expected to officially brief the top echelon of the Navy on their priced new procurement at the Naval Headquarters, Abuja. Sources said that the procurement was part of the project started in the second half of 2006 and funded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the re-equipment of the Nigerian Navy. Under the scheme, the Navy has received many platforms aimed at enabling it to secure better the nation's maritime interests and installations. According to further explanations, generally, the patrol boats provide a budget-conscious solution to a set of operational requirements including: General policing missions in coastal waters; Customs control and anti-terrorist operations at sea; Offshore protection and tracking; Surveillance of the Exclusive Economic Zone; Defence and protection of national sea areas; and Operations within integrated task forces. Specifically, the Offshore Patrol Crafts would engage in various border protection roles including anti-bunkering, anti-smuggling, antipiracy, fisheries patrols, immigration law enforcement and Search and Rescue (S&R) at sea. Last month, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ishaya Ibrahim, informed the Minister of Defence, Dr Shettima Mustafa, that the Navy would take delivery of the first set of 38 metre Manta boat in the first week of March. He also told Dr Mustafa, who was on a familiarisation tour of military formations and facilities, that the Navy needed about 35 Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), Offshore Patrol Crafts (OPC) and In-shore Patrol Crafts (IPCs) for the effective surveillance of the nation's maritime interests, especially the guarantee of security in the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea . Vice Admiral Ibrahim said the Navy desires the ability and capacity to police more than 60 nautical miles of the nation's coastal lines. He noted that the current capacity to patrol Nigeria 's maritime interest is confined to just between 20 and 50 nautical miles, stating that it is no longer adequate going by the level of activities in the Nigerian ports, increasing number of offshore oil installations and the increasing global interest in the Gulf of Guinea. He noted that the activities of the Navy at the checking points have greatly reduced the level of illegal bunkering and kidnapping in the creeks.

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