Yemisi Izuora
In a determined spirit to deal with rising insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea, GoG, Government of Nigeria is about commissioning $195 million worth of aircraft, boats and vehicles in the next three months.
These would help to strengthen security in the pirate-infested Gulf of Guinea, Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi said.
The deployment will help reduce shipowners’ reliance on private security companies to protect them in the sea off Nigeria’s coast, Amaechi said in an interview in Abuja.
The water body is the most perilous in the world for seafarers, accounting for almost all crew kidnappings by pirates in recent years, according to the International Maritime Bureau. “We will have enough vessels located in the water, watching the water full time,” Amaechi said.
“You have aircraft watching the water, drones watching the water and all of them have the capacity to respond.” The Deep Blue Project, as the initiative is known, is coordinated by a government agency under Amaechi’s supervision.
The assets being deployed include two special mission vessels, two aircraft, two helicopters, four drones. 16 armored vehicles and 17 fast interceptor boats.
The project will see the deployment of two special mission vessels; two aircraft, two helicopters, four drones, 16 armored vehicles and 17 fast interceptor boats. Blue Octagon, a Herzliya, Israel-based maritime security company, was responsible for procuring the equipment for Nigeria; which will be operated by the security forces.
Amaechi noted that the state’s increased capabilities mean ships supporting Nigeria’s crucial oil industry, or importing and exporting goods, should have less need for the approximately 200 privately owned escort vessels manned by armed naval personnel that cost $8,000-$10,000 per day.
Meanwhile, a report published on Wednesday has suggested that Nigeria needs to review its maritime security rules; while enlisting the support of private companies to tackle rampant piracy in its waters.
Although the report published by London-based Dryad Global credited Nigeria for being the region’s front-runner in combating piracy; even as it noted that the planned deployment of $195 million’s worth of aircraft, boats and vehicles should bolster its response; nevertheless, it warned that the initiative couldn’t address the scourge on its own.
Nigeria doesn’t allow private armed guards on ships, leaving them reliant on escorts by licensed boats manned by naval personnel. However, this has been criticised by Dryad.
“Seafarers’ lives are at risk from ever-increasing violent attacks and Nigerian pirates are operating with increased impunity. Nigeria must strike a balance between restrictions for the sake of national security and creating space for third-party security providers to complement the Nigerian navy’s security activities in support of commercial operations,’’ the report stated.
Nigeria is opposed to allowing ships in the nation’s waters to carry weapons even if they are in transit; claiming recent investment in equipment and training will phase out the need for private security providers.
Nigeria’s waters are in the centre of the Gulf of Guinea, a vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean stretching from Senegal to Angola that is the source of ever-greater anxiety for ship owners, operators and their crews. Last year, the region accounted for 95% of the 135 seafarers seized worldwide in 22 separate incidents; according to the International Maritime Bureau. Hostages are typically hidden in the Niger Delta region, a dense network of creeks and swamps; while ransoms are negotiated, the report says.
Dryad also criticized Nigeria’s implementation of a law, the first of its kind in the Gulf of Guinea; that was adopted in 2019 to punish pirates with heavy sentences. The only people prosecuted so far under the legislation were from a private company involved in handing over a ransom payment, added the report.
In January, President Muhammadu Buhari terminated an arrangement in place since 2014 in which a local private security company; Ocean Marine Solutions Ltd., provided boats allowing the navy to patrol a so-called Secure Anchorage Area, or SAA; on the approaches to Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city and commercial hub. Amaechi had tried for several years to end the state’s relationship with OMS; arguing the firm’s charges per vessel of $2,500 for the first day and $1,500 per subsequent day imposed exorbitant costs on shippers.
He stated that the Navy can now secure the waters around Lagos’s two large commercial ports on its own; with two boats supplied by the government.
