The Maritime Sector has always played an important role in the economy of most coastal states. The Gulf of Guinea (GoG) is a good example as it has witnessed several trans-shipping and fishing activities with huge developmental impacts on the different economies of the GoG Countries.
These developments are however challenged by a series of Maritime and Transnational Organised Crimes (MTOCS) like piracy, human trafficking/smuggling, terrorism at sea, money laundering, Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUUF), and illegal bunkering amongst others. Therefore, creating a safe maritime environment for trading along the gulf remains a focal point for the various GoG governments.
In March 2022, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) announced Nigeria’s exit from piracy list all thanks to the commitment and dedication of the Nigerian Navy personnel.
However, barely a month after the end of Exercise Obangame Express 2023, Nigeria will commemorate one year since the IMB announced the country’s exit from the Global List of Piracy-prone countries.
The Nigerian Navy hosted Exercise Obangame Express 2023, the largest multinational maritime exercise in Western and Central Africa, in collaboration with US Africa Command and US Naval Forces Europe and Africa.
This year’s edition featured 32 countries from the Gulf of Guinea and beyond, coming together to “improve regional cooperation, information-sharing practices, and tactical interdiction expertise.”
This feat came as a welcome follow-up to the IMB’s Global Piracy Report of July 2021, which indicated that Nigeria had recorded its lowest number of piracy and sea robbery against ships attacks in 27 years.
These remarkable milestones were the culmination of naval and maritime security investments by the current administration, through such initiatives as the Falcon Eye Maritime Domain Awareness System, which was commissioned by President Buhari in 2021, and the acquisition of several new platforms, including a brand-new Hydrographic Survey Ship, NNS LANA, as well as a new Warship, the Landing Ship Tank (LST) NNS KADA, whose inaugural operational assignment was a mission to Guinea Bissau to support the ECOWAS Stabilization Force there, in August 2022.
Again, two new Seaward Defense Boats (SDBs) are currently under construction by the Naval Dockyard Limited in Lagos, while, in September 2022, there was a keel-laying Ceremony of two 76-metre Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) in Turkey.
In April 2022, the Nigerian Navy launched one of its biggest operations in years, Operation Dakatar Da Barawo (OPDDB), aimed at curbing crude oil theft and vandalism in the creeks of the Niger Delta.
The operation, launched in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has so far led to the seizure of more than N80 billion worth of stolen petroleum products, with hundreds of arrests made.
More exciting is that oil production, which had been on a steady decline in early months of 2022, reversed its course and had been on a steady rise since October, a feat that has been roundly commended by all stakeholders.
The minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, speaking at a fora recently said, “I am happy to announce that there is a significant improvement in crude oil production, with both Nigerians and the international community acknowledging the improvement.”
On his part, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, has consistently reiterated his determination to achieve this goal and has expressed gratitude to President Buhari for providing the wherewithal and the resources to record the significant progress being recorded in the fight against maritime piracy and criminality.
Amidst the continuous strides, in August 2022, the Nigerian Navy intercepted a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), the MT Heroic Idun, a move that helped abort unauthorised entry into a producing Nigerian oilfield.
The Service working with Nigeria’s regional partners, through the Yaoundé Architecture, a Gulf of Guinea maritime safety and security coordinating mechanism, covering 19 countries, the Nigerian Navy successfully alerted and vectored Equatorial Guinea Ship to arrest the vessel, which had by then fled into the country’s waters.
Following the arrest and investigations, by the Government of Equatorial Guinea, the Ship owners paid a substantial fine, after which it was handed over to the Nigerian Navy, and duly repatriated to Nigeria to face justice. The case is currently being tried by a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.
MT Heroic Idun is the most high-profile of several rogue vessels arrested by the Nigerian Navy in 2022. According to the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Gambo, “The arrest of MT Heroic Idun will serve as a deterrent to those who are stealing our crude.”
But, of course, the arrest and trial have not come without resistance from the powerful owners and elements behind the VLCC. They have been waging a vicious international propaganda campaign against the Nigerian Government and the Nigerian Navy. But the Chief of Naval Staff has made it very clear that he will not be deterred, and that justice will take its due and transparent course, through the Nigerian legal system.
Nigeria’s hosting of Obangame Express, according to industry watchers, is a testament to the Nigerian Navy’s determined efforts at advancing regional and multinational cooperation, to achieve its objectives of securing, holistically and sustainably, Nigeria’s maritime environment, and the wider Gulf of Guinea.
It is this unwavering commitment to partnership that saw the CNS and Naval Headquarters host, at the Naval Headquarters in Abuja, delegations from the European Union, China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation, Defense Academy of UK, the African Union, International Seabed Authority (ISA), European Security Academy, Italian Defense firm, Leonardo; the United States Navy Office of Security Cooperation, among many others.
The CNS, had also, in this spirit of partnership and engagement, attended Euro-Naval 2022, and the Sixth Symposium of Chiefs of Staff of Navies of the Gulf of Guinea in Paris, France; and the XIII Trans-Regional Sea-Power Symposium in Venice, Italy, among others.
In 2023, the partnerships are set to continue, and Obangame Express 2023 is just the beginning. Speaking at the closing ceremony on February 3, 2023, Vice Admiral Gambo noted, memorably, “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is a success.”
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