As Nigeria set to launch maritime security, pirates abduct five in Gulf of Guinea

As Nigeria finalises efforts towards the launch of the broad spectrum Deep Blue maritime security project, dare-devil pirates struck in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG), on Wednesday, and abducted five seafarers onboard the F/V ATLANTIC PRINCESS with IMO number 8124412. The vessel was boarded at exactly 65 nautical miles South of Tema, Ghana.

According to a travel advisory issued.on Thursday by Dryad Global, “The vessel was understood to have been approached by one speedboat with 8 pirates onboard. The vessel was reportedly fired upon prior to being boarded by 5 armed men. The vessel is understood to have been hijacked and sailed south to a distance of 100 nautical miles before pirates departed the vessel. Among the abducted seafarers are three Chinese, one Russian and one Korean.

“This latest attack ends a significant hiatus of activity within the Gulf of Guinea. This latest attack is the first kidnapping incident since 15th March 21. Thus far within 2021, there have been 56 personnel kidnapped across 5 incidents from vessels operating within the Gulf of Guinea.

“This latest incident represents the furthest westerly kidnapping within the Gulf of Guinea to date. Trends across the past 18 months have indicated a broadening of the piratical footprint within the Gulf of Guiana, beyond the traditional heartland of the Nigerian EEZ.

“Reports from crew members indicate that 2 hours prior to the attack, a rusted looking mini tanker vessel was sighted far off the horizon with the AIS off. The vessel is understood to have manoeuvred away from the suspicious tanker.

“Further but unverifiable reporting indicates that the crew had identified the pirates as Nigerians. Given the significant distance of the incident from Nigerian waters, it remains a realistic possibility that the vessel sighted by the crew was being used as a mothership from which to launch and sustain deep offshore operations.”

Recall that the assets acquisition and installation phase of Nigeria’s Deep Blue Project moved towards completion on Wednesday with the delivery of one of the two Special Mission Aircraft for the project. The Cessna CJ3 Citation jet for maritime surveillance was received in Lagos ahead of the scheduled launch of the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure – commonly called the Deep Blue Project – on May 21.

“The arrival of the aircraft at the Nigerian Air Force Base, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, marked a great moment in Nigeria’s maritime security history. Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh, captured the moment in a brief interview with journalists.

“This is a historical moment in the course of our national development, especially as we move towards diversification of our economy with maritime playing a strategic role,” Jamoh said.

“The arrival of the Special Mission Aircraft happened amid a positively changing maritime security narrative in Nigeria, and we have no doubt that with this additional capacity to control our maritime domain, things would get even better.”

Nigeria has in recent times witnessed a significant drop in attacks in its waters. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB), the global focal point in the fight against maritime crimes and malpractices, recorded only two incidents in Nigerian waters between January and March this year in the latest quarterly report of piracy and armed robbery against ships. This was against 11 attacks within the same period last year, 14 in 2019, and 22 incidents in 2018.

“The Nigerian maritime domain and the Gulf of Guinea had seen spikes in piracy and armed robbery at sea. But since the deployment of assets under the Deep Blue Project began about two years ago, there have been drops in such security breaches. IMB reported a decline in piracy attacks in Nigeria in the third quarter of 2019, saying in its report, Nigeria has reduced Q3 piracy attacks from 41 in 2018 to 29 in 2019. This represented a nearly 30 per cent year-on-year reduction.

The Deep Blue Project aims to prevent illegal activities in the Nigerian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), enforce maritime regulations, enhance the safety of lives at sea, and prevent illegal activities in the inland waterways. In February, the Federal Government added the Secure Anchorage Area (SAA), off the coast of Lagos, to the areas under the protection of the Deep Blue Project.

The project is designed with three categories of platforms to tackle maritime security issues on land, sea, and air. The land assets comprise the Command, Control, Communication, Computer, and Intelligence Centre (C4i) for intelligence gathering and data collection; 16 armoured vehicles for coastal patrol; and about 600 specially trained troops for interdiction, known as Maritime Security Unit. On air, there are two Special Mission Aircraft for surveillance of the EEZ, one of which was received May 12, with the second expected to arrive soon; three Special Mission Helicopters for search and rescue; and four Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The sea assets consist of two Special Mission Vessels and 17 Fast Interceptor Boats.

All the assets have been delivered, except one Special Mission Aircraft.

The Deep Blue Project assets would be deployed to prevent pipeline vandalism, oil theft, illegal bunkering, arms smuggling, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and illegal fishing. They would also be deployed for pollution prevention and control in the Nigerian maritime environment.

The project is in line with the country’s total spectrum maritime security strategy, anchored on four pillars, namely, situational awareness, response capability, law enforcement and local partnerships, and regional cooperation.

The C4i Centre, with the primary aim of providing maritime domain awareness intelligence for informed enforcement operations and maritime safety and security interventions, has been up and running since August 2019. As the nucleus of the scheme, the C4i centre would be integrated with all the air, sea, and land platforms of the Deep Blue Project.

YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

Fake Website Asking N-Power Candidates To Verify If They Have Been Shortlisted For N30,700 Grant

CLAIM: A viral post on WhatsApp is asking N-Power candidates to verify if they have been shortlisted to receive ₦30,700 Batch C grant. As Nigeria set to launch maritime security, pirates abduct five in Gulf of Guinea

VERDICT: FALSE. Registration can make you lose your WhatsApp account to scammers.As Nigeria set to launch maritime security, pirates abduct five in Gulf of Guinea

As Nigeria set to launch maritime security, pirates abduct five in Gulf of Guinea