The Nation Newspaper

Tag: gulf of Guinea

  • Pirates ‘paid $400,000 ransoms’ in West Africa

    Ransoms of up to $400,000 (£273,000) have been paid to gangs which hijacked ships in the Gulf of Guinea in 2015, a maritime report has said.

    The region was the most dangerous in the world for seafarers, with pirates becoming more violent, it added.

    A total of 32 seafarers had been kidnapped so far this year compared to 15 in 2015, the report said.

    Kidnapping for ransom took place mainly in the oil-producing areas off Nigeria’s coast, it added.

    The spike in kidnappings appeared to be linked to political developments in Nigeria, the report by the United States-based group Oceans Beyond Piracy group said.

    There had also been a sharp drop in oil theft last year, which the report put down to improved patrolling of Nigeria’s waters, and the fall in oil prices making it less profitable.

    “In most kidnapping incidents the pirates board the vessel after firing at the bridge to suppress any opposition and intimidate the crew, and then proceed to isolate the ranking officers and engineers, who net the highest ransoms,” the BBC quoted the report as saying on Tuesday.

    “Time permitting, the pirates loot the vessel as well, sometimes spending a few hours aboard. They then escape with the three or four crew members who will be held onshore during negotiations.”

    In most cases, victims were held on small islands in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region.

    “The same pirate gangs responsible for these attacks are likely the same groups responsible for kidnapping and violence in the Niger Delta,” the report said.

  • Multinational task force to patrol Gulf of Guinea – Buhari

    Multinational task force to patrol Gulf of Guinea – Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said that a multinational task force will soon be established to patrol the waters of the Gulf of Guinea.

    He spoke during an audience with the French Minister of Defence, Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The President, in a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said that patrols by the multinational task force will augment and boost ongoing efforts to improve security in the Gulf, and curb crude oil theft and piracy.

    Buhari and Le Drian also discussed ongoing French support for the Federal Government’s efforts to end the Boko Haram insurgency.

    The President expressed his government’s appreciation of the assistance and support of France and other G7 countries, which he said, has helped Nigeria achieve significant successes against Boko Haram.

    He said: “When we got into office in May, last year, Boko Haram was effectively controlling at least 14 local government areas. But now, it is no longer so, and they have resorted to attacking soft targets with Improvised Explosive Devices.

    “We are determined to secure all of our territory effectively. We are doing our best and our troops are now operating in the Sambisa Forest,” President Buhari told the French Defence Minister.

    The Minister assured President Buhari that France will continue to assist Nigeria to overcome Boko Haram, saying that all terrorists must be seen as common enemies of the free world.

  • Bristow crash: Controversy over victims’ whereabouts

    Bristow crash: Controversy over victims’ whereabouts

    Controversy Thursday trailed the whereabouts of 11 survivors of Wednesday’s Bristow helicopter crash.

    The victims, who were rescued alive around the ERHA oil field in the Gulf of Guinea, located about 85 nautical miles South East of Lagos Port and 40 nautical miles off Igbokoda, were said to have been ferried to the nearest hospital ashore by a speedboat, SURFER P2621.

    But fresh information obtained by The Nation on Thursday revealed that another Bristow helicopter airlifted the nine passengers and two crew members on Wednesday evening.
    The helicopter, it was learnt, was also recovered and loaded on a barge with the help of a crane.

    While some speculated that they were secretly brought to Lagos in a private hospital used by the oil company, others believed the victims must have been flown abroad.

    The Nation gathered that a certain Nicholas Oten might have been among the victims, while the name of the pilot was given as Captain Obinna.

    Marked N5BQJ, the helicopter, according to authorities ditched into the sea at about 10:20am while on its way to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, from Port Harcourt.

    All the passengers who floated on the water were rescued by a Merchant Vessel, MV DIJAMA, who launched two of its small boats and live rafts upon sighting them.

    At the time of filing this report, neither the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), nor the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) could give account of the victims whereabouts.

    Both agencies’ spokespersons told The Nation that the airline and the oil company involved took over.

    NEMA’s spokesman for the southwest, Ibrahim Farinloye said since no life was lost, the agency did not demand manifest.

    “It is a private matter really. The oil company and the airline have taken charge. We cannot be asking for manifest since there was no casualty. I do not know where they took them to.

    “But the incident occurred around ERHA oil field and the helicopter has been recovered,” he said.

  • NNPC deploys drones to monitor movement of oil vessels

    NNPC deploys drones to monitor movement of oil vessels

    Fresh vista to the fight against the perennial problem of oil theft and pipeline vandalism appeared on the horizon Tuesday with the disclosure by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu that the Corporation is working towards the deployment of drones across the nation’s territorial waters to monitor the inwards and outwards movement of oil bearing vessels.

    In a presentation at the special conference on Security in the Gulf of Guinea organized by the Gusau Institute, Dr. Kachikwu stated that the Corporation is working on a range of far reaching options designed to end the ugly episodes of crude and petroleum products theft within the next eight months.

    The press statement of the corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ohi Alegbe quoted the helmsman as saying: “We are launching an armada of approaches which will include incorporation of drones to check movements of vessels within our territorial waters; We are looking at the current logistical nightmares of changing staffing at the loading bay of crude oil export terminals virtually every 90 days, We are trying to equip the navy sufficiently though they are very well equipped in terms of skill set but not in terms of arsenal for patrols within the maritime area.”

    On the issue of pipeline protection, the GMD explained that though the Corporation is working assiduously with the law enforcement agencies to increase the presence of military personnel in the area, the ultimate security for the critical oil and gas assets lies squarely with the host communities.

    “The best security for these pipelines lies with the communities. We are trying to create enough incentives for them to see these pipelines as their own,’’ he said

    Lamenting the impact of oil theft on the smooth operations of the nation’s refineries, the NNPC GMD warned that if left unchecked, the menace could invariably make it impossible for the NNPC to operate the refineries.

    “Most of our product pipelines are ruptured and attacked frequently. For instance between June 2014 and June 2015, we recorded about 3, 500 to 4,000 attempts at the various products pipelines across the country. In addition to that, the pipelines that are supposed to convey crude to the refineries are perpetually hacked, ’’ he added.

    Dr. Kachikwu noted that the resort to the use of marine vessels to convey crude to the refineries is coming at heavy cost.

    “What this means is that no matter what we do with the refineries today, unless that is solved, we really are going nowhere, we cannot operate the refineries.”

  • EU adopts strategy on Gulf of Guinea

    The European Union (EU) has adopted a blueprint to support Gulf of Guinea countries to address various challenges in maritime insecurity and organised crime.

    The EU foreign ministers at the end of their meeting on Monday said the strategy on the Gulf of Guinea was comprehensive and a  and long-standing approach of the 28-member bloc to support West and Central African countries’ efforts to overcome poverty and attain lasting stability and prosperity.

    They said that piracy, armed robbery at sea, organised crime and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Gulf of Guinea posed serious challenges to human security, human rights, economic activity and trade both at sea and on land.

    They also recognised the need to protect both the populations in the Gulf of Guinea region and European citizens from the threats that emanate from the region.

    The strategy was scheduled to be presented to the EU/Africa Summit in April

     

  • Jonathan at the gulf of Guinea summit on maritime

    Jonathan at the gulf of Guinea summit on maritime