The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Maritime security

  • How we can tackle maritime security, by expert

    How we can tackle maritime security, by expert

    Maritime security remains a concern for global trade and transportation and must be tackled critically, says Uche Mba, a maritime professional.

    Mba, who has close to two decades of experience, opined that the integration of electronic navigation aids has significantly advanced the safety and security of maritime operations.

    These technological tools, according to her, provide real-time data, improve situational awareness, and enhance decision-making capabilities.

    “In today’s maritime landscape, electronic navigation aids play a vital role in averting security issues,” Mba said.

    Read Also: CAS to rule on Nigeria status  ahead of  2024 Olympics

    Mbah has over a decade of experience as a maritime professional, and has managed maritime security vessels; safety training has led to the use of electronic navigation aids in maritime operations.

    She went further to share critical ways electronic navigation aids can help avert maritime security issues.

    She said, “The Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracks vessels in real-time, detecting suspicious behavior and enhancing search and rescue operations.

    “Radar systems identify small craft and low-profile threats, while Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) ensure safe route planning and hazard detection.”

    Shedding light on the Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT), she noted,

    “This provides global vessel tracking, supporting anti-piracy efforts and maritime domain awareness.

    Surveillance and reconnaissance drones offer extended surveillance capabilities, monitoring remote areas and supporting interdiction operations

  • Govt acquires two helicopters, 20 speed boats for maritime security

    The Federal Government said it has taken delivery of two helicopters, 20 speed boats and other equipment needed to secure Nigerian waters.

    Last year, President Muhammadu Buhari approved $195 million to boost maritime security and reduce criminal activities.

    To achieve its aim, the government engaged an Israeli company to train some personnel on waterways security.

    During his valedictory media briefing in Abuja, the nation’s capital, the Maritime sector, the Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi said: “For maritime security, our water today is extremely bad. The Gulf of Guinea is the worst in the world, but we are about to clean it up.

    “We won a contract of $195 million approved by the President to ensure that we have maritime security. So, they bought equipment and they just arrived the seaport. We are clearing. They are bringing in two helicopters, 20 speed boats with flat bottom because of Niger Delta and communication equipment.

    “All those have arrived Nigeria, and we believe they will be fixed in the next one to two months.

    “This will enable us see Nigerian waters from anywhere and make us see those who do bunkering and those who kidnap on the water. We will know whether they will be faster than the camera or not.”

    He added: “The moment the camera picks you, then the Navy will respond. We are bringing in infrastructure that enables us see our waterways from the beginning to the end and to abort criminal activities.

    “Since the equipment have arrived and we have already trained personnel, the moment they finish installing the equipment, then criminal activities on the waterways will be checked.”

    Amaechi also said the arrival of the equipment would also help the Nigerian Customs Services (NCS), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the general public.

  • Maritime security: Nigerian waters now safer, says Peterside

    Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director-General  Dr. Dakuku Peterside has said piracy and other maritime crimes have reduced drastically in the Nigerian maritime domain, making it safer for investment.

    Contrary to reports in a section of the media on his responses while defending the Agency’s budget before the Senate Committee on Maritime Transport in Abuja, Peterside noted that efforts being put in place by the Federal Government to tackle maritime crimes were now yielding results. He added that NIMASA would continue to up its game to ensure Nigerians benefit from the enormous potential in the sector.

    He said: “You are aware of all the measures we are putting in place to take the Nigerian maritime sector where it belongs and when you look at the multifaceted approach of the Federal Executive Council’s approved deep blue project which covers every aspect of maritime security, you will realise that a lot has been done to get us to this stage.”

    The DG said the recent rating of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) stating that the Nigerian waters are now safer had further boosted investors’ confidence in the Nigerian maritime sector locally and globally. He noted that all these had been achieved through collaboration driven by NIMASA, working with other relevant agencies of government.

    “Statistics do not lie and so when the IMB came up with the report of our waters being safer, we were not surprised because we know the level of work we have done with the support of the federal government to ensure that the Nigerian Maritime Sector becomes an haven for investors,” he said.

    The IMB 2019 first quarter reported stated that the Nigerian maritime domain recorded no vessel hijack in the period under review, first time since the first quarter of 1994 that Nigeria would have such record. The report also said between January and March 2019, Nigeria a decrease in piracy incidents, compared to the same period in 2018.

    Peterside also said maritime could fund a large percentage of Nigeria’s budget if properly harnessed. He added that despite increases in the Agency’s contribution to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), NIMASA remained committed to doing more, especially through the recently launched final billing system, the automation of all its processes, and other strategies being put in place by the Executive Management team to block leakages.

     

  • Maritime security: Stakeholders reiterate regional collaboration, borderless sea

    •As NN inaugurates RMAC training school

    The Nigerian Navy (NN) and her regional counterparts have been urged to sustain collaboration and embrace borderless patrol of the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) to address issues of arms, drugs and human trafficking, piracy and other maritime crimes has been restated.

    They were also urged to sustain joint regional patrols of the GoG in order to contain menaces that were militating against effective realisation of the blue economy.

    These were some of the recommendations made by participants at a symposium to mark the official opening of the 2019 OBANGAME Express held at the Naval Dockyard Limited in Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Initiated by the United States (US) Naval Forces Africa (NAVAF) in 2010 to foster togetherness among African navies, this year’s exercise would test the interoperability of the forces, information management, arrest and prosecution of offenders, among other things.

    Addressing delegates from 31 countries of the world yesterday, Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas said the joint exercise was coming barely a month after the NN concluded training of naval personmel from Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic on Regional Maritime Domain Awareness Capability (RMAC) as well as 200 Maritime Stakeholders.

    He said the regional joint patrol was very important for governments of countries around the GoG because of the enormous maritime resources with prospects for lasting solution to economic and developmental aspirations of African states.

    According to Ibas, the region was frequently being challenged by multifaceted and evolving maritime threats leading to unpredictable threat-levels and deepening conditions inimical to peace and security.

    Of particular concern, Ibas said, was the realisation that many of the threats posed great danger to effective exploitation of the maritime environment and increasingly manifest as transnational and cross-border crimes, hence, the need for a united response by regional navies and coastguards.

    He said: “This esteemed assembly is no doubt fully abreast of the gains of the African Integrated Maritime Strategy (AIMS) 2050 and the Yaoundé Code of Conduct of 2013, which have facilitated capacity building within a defined architecture for regional maritime security Operations.

    “These instruments have also emplaced standards for inter-regional co-operation based on law enforcement at sea, information sharing and training, further enhancing multilateral collaboration in the GoG. This is the spirit that birthed the OBANGAME EXPRESS as a tool for enhancing the collective capabilities of GoG countries to counter sea-based illicit activities by improving regional

    “This year’s exercise provides another unique opportunity to appraise operational and tactical scenarios akin to real life challenges commonly experienced within our region.

    “Despite the attendant operational and logistic challenge, the exercise would again provide for our navies opportunity to freely exercise without the encumbrances of boundary restrictions and sovereignty to overcome migratory threats and inter regional crimes which have begun to fester across our responsibility overlaps.

    “I am pleased to mention that the NN along with the navies of ECOWAS Zone E and the Gendarmerie of Niger Republic have been in the vanguard of efforts to build synergy across boundaries necessary to mitigate maritime security challenges within the zone. Under the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy, the member states have endorsed a memorandum of understanding for joint patrols of their common maritime space.”

    Earlier, US Consul-General John Bray

    said the exercise had grown in complexity and accomplishment, commending efforts by the regional navies to collaborate to counter sea-based illicit activities.

    He said: “We note the efforts by regional navies to work together in the spirit of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct which is designed to improve regional cooperation, maritime domain awareness, information-sharing practices, and tactical interdiction expertise to enhance the collective capabilities of Gulf of Guinea and West African nations to counter sea-based illicit activity.”

    Director of Intelligence, U.S. Africa Command, Rear Admiral Heidi Berg said 33 countries were scheduled to participate in the exercise, adding that illegal fishing, trafficking of weapons, narcotics and people, as well as the ongoing threat of piracy, undermine the rule of law, food security, and economic development in the region.

    She said the exercise was clear demonstration of the US’ dedication to combat illicit activities and help its partners in the GoG to provide security for their resources, economy, and people.

    “Obangame Express 2019 will make the region a safe place for maritime commerce and ultimately help increase prosperity,” Berg said.

    Highpoint of the event was the inauguration of the first Regional Maritime Awareness Capability (RMAC) Training School in West Africa which was established through a counterpart arrangement between the US and Nigerian governments.

    At the event were General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division Maj.-Gen. Musa Yusuf, Commandant, Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC) Oshodi Air Vice Marshal Abubakar-Sadick Liman, Rear Admiral Ifeola Mohammed, Flag Officers Commanding (FOCs) Western and Naval Training Command, Rear Admirals Obed Ngalabak and Stanfford Enoch respectively, Admiral Superintendent, Naval Doctrine and Assessment Centre, Rear Admiral Maurice Eno, among others.

     

     

  • Nigeria and maritime security

    At a time like this when the global energy situation is in a flux, fluctuating prices of crude oil, and the growing demand for and use of alternative energy sources have necessitated a careful reassessment by countries like ours who depend on crude oil for a huge percentage of foreign exchange earnings. Faith in fossil fuels continues to decline globally. With the concomitant decreasing revenue, crude oil dependent countries must now try as a matter of necessity to augment any projected revenue shortfalls by thinking outside the box. This is more so if we in Nigeria must still pursue the kind of aggressive infrastructural development that President Muhammadu Buhari promised upon his election. The whole idea of thinking beyond oil meant that government had to deliberately invest in the development of other sectors of our economy like the maritime and agricultural sectors that have potentials of contributing as much revenue as crude oil to our economy -if not more.

    The figures speak for themselves. With a coastline of 853 km, an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles and a continental shelf of 47,934 square kilometres, it is no news that Nigeria is one of the African countries endowed with substantial marine resources. According to data from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), fish represented 28 percent of the protein content of average Nigerian diet in 2004. The catch profile includes croakers, soles, groupers, snappers, barracudas, elephant snouts, trunk fish and shellfish, such as shrimps, crabs, periwinkles and oysters. Our country is one of the 15 countries that make up the Gulf of Guinea which stretches from Gabon to Liberia.  As at today, about 70 percent of Africa’s oil production comes from the Gulf of Guinea and with possibilities of more discoveries of offshore hydrocarbon deposits, these numbers are likely going to rise. The current estimate of oil production in the gulf stand at 5.4 million barrels per day. However, it is a well-known fact that maritime security remains a key to maintaining the flow of revenue from oil and gas sector. Besides, maritime resources like fish remain an important source of protein that contributes to diet as well as livelihood of many of us in Africa.

    The centrality of security in the Gulf of Guinea to geopolitics and geo-economics of Africa cannot therefore be overemphasized. The Gulf remains an important transit hub for much of the region’s estimated $253 billion of commerce—most notably petroleum products. Yet, in recent years, it has also become a hotbed of piracy, overshadowing the Gulf of Aden. In 2014, there were just 11 incidents in the latter compared to 41 in the Gulf of Guinea. The theft of crude oil especially but not exclusively along our coastal waters is a huge source of haemorrhage of national revenue. It has become so intense and widespread that it has now been cynically referred to as an epidemic. Several figures on the volume of Nigeria’s crude oil stolen everyday exist. However official figures still hover around 200,000 to 400,000 barrels per day. The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) recently announced that Nigeria lost about 15.9 billion US dollars to oil thieves between the period of 2011 and 2014.

    Available statistics indicate that between 2015 and 2017, the number of ships on illegal bunkering mission rose from 23 in 2015 to 50 in 2017 including 77 reported attacks on vessels in Nigerian territorial waters in 2016 alone. Within the same year, nine shipping vessels on illegal fishing were also arrested.  In addition, the Gulf of Guinea is said to be a key route for arms and drug smuggling to Western and Northern Africa.

    Such magnitude of challenge requires trans-national effort and international cooperation to manage them effectively. It will require intelligence gathering, information sharing and building cutting edge technological capabilities. It also requires sincerity of purpose on the part of all concerned stakeholders especially international partners. A situation where organised criminal networks continue to brazenly steal oil and cargo from vessels transiting any part of the world is an indictment on all devotees of international cooperation. It does not make any one of us look good. After all, the markets for all these stolen items are flourishing because there are those who keep buying them. For something as sophisticated as oil theft to take place as frequently as it does in our region leaves more questions than answers. I am told the barges of different sizes are used to transport these illicit products before they are conveyed to waiting vessels on the high sea. Who buys them? That such levels of complicated transactions are concluded without detection has a lot to say about the level of commitment of countries especially those that are signatories to relevant maritime conventions. But we cannot continue to complain, it is a time to act within the limits of sovereignty and provisions of international law.

    I must admit that security challenges we face on our territorial waters within the Gulf of Guinea are quite complex although not insoluble. However, the economic implications are so huge that they can no longer be ignored. Therefore, countries must find ways to courageously confront this persistent pestilence once and for all. I am not saying that it will be easy or it will be instant but I know that it is possible only if we can frame it as a common threat that it is.

    In pursuit of this objective, President Buhari visited Malabo in Equatorial Guinea last year, where the two countries signed an agreement on the establishment of combined Maritime Policing and Security Patrol committee to enhance the security of the Gulf of Guinea and help curb maritime crimes like piracy, crude oil theft and smuggling. Part of it will entail deploying appropriate technology for extensive surveillance, training of relevant law enforcement officers to build their maritime law enforcement capabilities. Already the Nigerian Maritime Administrative and Security Agency(NIMASA) is implementing a comprehensive maritime strategy in collaboration with partners. In this regard, it has already established a Command and Control Centre for enhanced situation awareness, response capability, law enforcement and regional cooperation.

    This comprehensive strategy envisions maritime security using both top-bottom and bottom-up approaches. Looking at maritime security from the top through deploying technology infrastructure, reduction of criminality and improving policing capabilities are useful yet incomplete.  We often overlook a very important component which has to do with the communities. Overlooking the interest of communities have often led to disruptions as intervention could raise livelihood and sustainability questions which could linger for a while. NIMASA therefore took time to look at maritime security from bottom by seeking to understand and mainstream the perspectives inhabitants of coastal communities in a holistic manner. The strategy is also part of a domestic response to the call by the African Union Commission (AUC) for the articulation of the 2050, Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy (AIMS) in 2009 and the adoption of AU Charter on Maritime Security, Safety and Development in 2016.

    Recently, the Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council approved the Deep Blue Project whose key objective is the provision of an Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure to enhance the country’s response capabilities to criminal activities, implement a robust intelligence gathering system and regional integration in collaboration with other countries.

    Moreover, our country also supported the Durban Resolution on Maritime Safety, Maritime Security and Protection of Marine Environment in Africa. The resolution encouraged member-states to harmonize and review maritime, port and inland water way legislations to let them conform to international norms. Nigeria is also working with other countries in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to implement the Code of Conduct on Repression of Piracy and other illicit Activities as well as the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy under the Zone E Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre Mechanism.

    It is important to emphasize here that we also recognise that any effort that will improve maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea will entail a convergence of views of other national maritime agencies in a strategic alliance to pursue unified objectives. It is an important key to unlock the economic diversity and progress that is most needed in our continent at the moment. Therefore, countries within the region must come together as never, if we hope to subdue this common and costly threat of insecurity.

     

    • Amaechi is Minister of Transportation.
  • NIMASA to acquire more vessels to boost maritime security

    NIMASA to acquire more vessels to boost maritime security

    The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is to acquire strategic maritime safety and security assets, including vessels.

    This is in line with the recent approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in Abuja.

    According to a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by the Head, Corporate Communications, Mr Isichei Osamgbi, the move is also in line with the total spectrum of maritime security strategy.

    The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside, also announced the establishment of a Command and Control Centre as part of the maritime security strategic initiative.

    “The four components of the initiative are situational awareness, response capability, law enforcement and local partnerships and regional cooperation; which are the fulcrum upon which tackling maritime crime will be built on.”

    Peterside said that the implementation of NIMASA’s maritime strategy, in collaboration with the agency’s partners, was a panacea to piracy and maritime crime within Nigerian territorial waters.

    According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), he gave an assurance that NIMASA would continue to collaborate with the military, especially the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force, among other partners, to make Nigerian waterways safe and secure.

    “We are not unmindful of the peculiar environment of Niger Delta which poses its own challenge in tackling maritime crime, especially kidnapping of crew and illegal bunkering that leads to pollution.

    “We will continue to work with the Nigerian Navy and regional organisations to strengthen our regional approach to tackling maritime crime,” he said.

    The director-general said that NIMASA would not relax in its quest to see the early passage of the Anti-Piracy Bill, the draft of which the Federal Executive Council recently approved for legislative action.

    Peterside explained that eradicating maritime crime and piracy would be a priority for the agency and its partners in 2018.

    He said that the agency focused on working with all relevant stakeholders, using its laid-out strategy to phase out maritime crime in Nigeria’s domain.

     

  • Anti-Piracy law ‘ll boost maritime security, says Defence Minister

    Anti-Piracy law ‘ll boost maritime security, says Defence Minister

    •G7 meets in Lagos

    Defence Minister Mansur Dan-Ali yesterday said an Anti-Piracy Bill has been sent to the National Assembly to fight the menace and other maritime security threats in the nation’s waters.

    When passed, the law will be the first in Africa to specifically address the arrest and prosecution of maritime criminals.

    Dan-Ali spoke at a two-day conference of G7++Friends of the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) group at Eko Hotels and Suites on Victoria Island in Lagos.

    He decried the spate of criminalities within the nation’s maritime domain, saying the Navy and other maritime stakeholders were unrelenting in their quest to combat the vices.

    The minister, who said the government had adopted hard and soft approaches to tackle criminalities within the maritime space, added that one of the soft approaches was the encouragement of modular refineries.

    Dan-Ali said: “In recent years, the GoG region experienced increase in the rate of criminality. The criminal activities, which are mostly on Nigerian waters, include kidnapping, piracy/sea robbery, illegal unregulated and unreported fishing, smuggling, human and drug trafficking, illegal bunkering and crude oil theft.

    “Unfortunately, factors that fuel the acts are centred on the socio-economic issues in the Niger Delta region, coupled with the activities of external collaborators who derive pecuniary benefits from internationally organised crimes.

    “To change the narrative of insecurity and criminality on Nigerian waters, the government adopted the hard and soft power approaches, including bilateral and multi-lateral collaborations with organisations and countries within and outside the region.

    “The hard-power approach is spearheaded by the Nigerian Navy in conjunction with other maritime security stakeholders, such as the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

    “An Anti-piracy Bill is being legislated on at the National Assembly. To further boost employment and curb crude oil theft, the Federal Government is in the process of establishing modular refineries in the region. The government is encouraging people to come out and register their modular refineries instead of the illegal business that is going on. That does not mean deregulation of refineries.”

    On regional collaboration, Dan-Ali said Nigeria was actively committed to 2013 Yaounde Declaration, which established the Inter-regional coordination Centre (ICC) between ECOWAS and ECCAS.

    He said: “It is gratifying, however, to state that the various measures adopted to stem the rising tide of criminality in the Gulf of Guinea have yielded positive results.”

    President of G7++ Daniele Bosio said it was the first time the group was holding its annual conference outside Europe.

    He said the choice of Nigeria as the venue was in recognition of the country’s role in providing security in the GoG region.

    Bosio said: “The important proof of the ever-increasing involvement of the African partners in building the region’s maritime security influenced the decision to hold the second annual meeting in Lagos.

    “This represents an important sign of leadership and a clear message to criminal groups operating in the region that our joint efforts will continue and become increasingly stronger.”

     

     

     

  • Buhari hands over maritime security to Israel

    Buhari hands over maritime security to Israel

    •Navy, others to get three-year training 

    President Muhammadu Buhari has handed over the country’s maritime security space to an Israeli firm, to reduce the cost of clearing goods and make the seaports attractive and competitive.

    The award of the contract by the President and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) will boost collaboration between the firm and the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), in securing the territorial waters from pirates and sea robbers.

    Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi, who spoke at the ‘World Maritime Day’ in Lagos, yesterday, said the Federal Government took the step as part of efforts to reap the benefits of the Blue Economy and end the cycle of crimes on the country’s territorial waters.

    The event, themed: “Connecting ships, ports and people”, was organised by the Ministry of Transportation, in collaboration with NIMASA, NPA, NSC, NIWA and other maritime agencies.

    The Isreali firm, Amaechi said, would provide world-class equipment and train the Navy and other security agencies for three years before handing over the facility to Nigeria.

    The training, the minister added, will begin in December and, by next April, the security agent will dominate the maritime space and cover the coastal states.

    He added that the security operatives will clear the coast from Lagos to Calabar, and cover the coastal states.

    The minister noted that a stakeholders’ summit will be held in Warri, Delta State, before end of the year, to address salient issues affecting the maritime industry.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Maritime security: US Admiral visits Nigeria

    Maritime security: US Admiral visits Nigeria

    A four-star General in the United States Naval Forces, Admiral Michelle Howard on Friday visited the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas to discuss maritime challenges in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG)
    Admiral Howard is the First African-American woman to command a US Navy Ship and Vice Chief of the US Naval Operations (VCNO), the second highest ranking officer in the US Navy.

    Currently the Commander, Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Europe and Commander,US Naval Forces, Africa, her office oversees joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, joint, and interagency partners, to enable enduring relationships and increase vigilance, resilience in Europe and Africa.

    The female officer, who was received by Ibas, according to a statement by the US Mission, Nigeria, would be in the country for two days. It said the visit will allow Howard to talk to Nigeria’s leaders about the significant contributions they can make to confront security challenges and enhance stability throughout the region.

    The statement said: “She will meet senior Nigerian civilian and military officials to discuss maritime collaboration and the naval bilateral relationship. “Admiral Howard is scheduled to visit Nigeria’s naval headquarters for discussions with Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas.

    “The Admiral will also meet with Nigerian graduates of U.S. service academies and deliver a presentation on women, peace and security at the Nigerian Defence College (NDC).”

    Quoting the Admiral the mission said: “Nigeria has over 450 miles of coastline and their central location in the Gulf of Guinea makes their Navy a key player in the fight against illicit maritime activity. I am visiting to discuss the security challenges and deepening our relationship in training and exercises.”

  • Maritime security summit holds in Togo

    Maritime security summit holds in Togo

     
    The first summit on maritime security in Africa will hold in Togo, Lome in October this year.
    The summit will be hosted by the Togolese President, Faure Gnassingbe against the background of rising cases of banditry, piracy, illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste in waters in the continent.
    Joint security measures will be adopted at the summit to protect the sea from pirates, terrorists and militants in some affected countries.
    The Lomé summit on maritime security and development in Africa according to the organisers will  take strong and encouraging decisions to restrict the scope of bandits operating with impunity in African waters and indulging in human trafficking through smugglers.
    Of 54 African countries, 37 have openings on the sea. The traffic of goods is more than 75 percent between Africa and other continents, with Illegal trade worth  hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
    The summit will also review tragic cases of movement of Africans by sea in search of better life.