With the needed boost, the Nigerian Navy has been able to
ward off some criminal activities that are inimical to the nation’s
economy and security, writes PRECIOUS IGBONWELUNDU
With about 90 per cent reliance on the sea for her export and import trade volumes, the job of securing Nigeria’s maritime domain is no tea party. It requires the right mix of human, capital resources and the political will to overrun economic saboteurs across the country’s about 420nm coastline and 200nm Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), translating to about 84,000 square nautical miles, as well as the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) which is about 574,800 square nautical miles.
Blessed with mineral and natural resources, including oil and gas
installations, this area has consistently been threatened by maritime
crimes such as piracy, sea robbery, crude oil theft, illegal oil
bunkering, Illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, militancy
and hostage- taking; vices that robbed the country of billions of
dollars revenue.
Faced with the onerous responsibility of securing this vast maritime
space, the Nigerian Navy (NN) executed her roles commendably until hell
broke loose following the embargo the country suffered between 1993 and
1999; no thanks to political instability caused by the annulment of the
June 12, 1993 presidential election.
The Navy was unable to import or export military equipment and this
led to the deterioration of existing facilities, which could not be
maintained. Most of her ships and other platforms, which were being used
to maintain regular presence at sea to fight criminals, became
dysfunctional.
With the return to democracy in 1999, the service’s cry for fleet
recapitalisation continuously fell on deaf ears despite the escapades of
pirates, illegal oil bunkers, crude oil thieves and other criminality
and militancy on the high seas and at the country’s backwaters.
Faced with the myriads of maritime security challenges, the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan initiated steps to restore the glorious days of the naval force but not much was achieved until President Muhammadu Buhari stepped in and gave the service the needed boost.
This year alone, the NN acquired 20 Riverside Patrol Boats, 20 Rigid
Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs) and two 25 Man House Boats which have been
activated into the service’s fleet, while several others are being
constructed within and outside the country and due for inauguration next
year.
They include a 60m Hydrographic Survey Ship; two 40m FPBs; one 43m
SDB III from Naval Dockyard Limited Lagos; two 35m FPBs; a 24m FPB and
four Manta Class Boats.
Others include 20 RHIBs, 23 8.5m Riverside Patrol Boats, a 25man house boat and one Leonardo Helicopter AW139.
With the acquisition/construction of capital ships, patrol boats and
rehabilitation of some old ones, the NN activated several dedicated
operations geared towards securing the maritime domain, a critical
requirement for legitimate economic activities to thrive.
These operations included Choke Point Management and Control Regime,
River Sweep, TSARE TEKU, Calm Waters and Swift Response which
contributed to improved maritime security with significant economic
gains.
Inaugurated in 2016, the Choke Point Regime involves deployment of
armed personnel in houseboats at strategic locations within the creeks
supported by patrol boats. So far, 10 houseboats otherwise known as
Naval Security Stations (NSS) have been deployed in areas where crude
oil theft and illegal refining activities are known to be prevalent.
According to Naval Chief of Training and Operations (CTOPs) Rear
Admiral Tariworio Dick, the Choke Point Regime has been instrumental to
some of the successes recorded by the NN this year.
“For instance, a total of 70 large wooden boats were arrested for
involvement in illegalities this year and 463 large wooden boats were
destroyed within the same period. In contrast, 31 large wooden boats
were arrested last year while 176 large wooden boats were destroyed
within the same period.
“The increase in the number of wooden boats arrested this year
compared to the records for last year is attributable to, among other
things, the improved efficiency of NSS. This is reflective in the
improved production capacity as alluded to by the NNPC and IOCs, due to
reduced down time associated with breaching of pipelines,” he said.
Dick said the activation of Operation River Sweep was premised on the
noticeable increase in activities of illegal refineries, particularly
in Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states.
“The operation involves air surveillance, insertion of Special Forces
by gunboats, pulling down of identified Illegal Refining Sites (IRS)
with the use of swamp buggies as well as arrest/destruction of boats and
barges found in such locations.
“This year, a total of 378 IRS were destroyed by the operation
resulting in the arrest of 62 speed boats and 275 suspects for
involvement in either COT/illegal bunkering or smuggling of petroleum
products. In contrast, 637 IRS were destroyed last year, with 104 speed
boats and 340 suspects arrested.
“The observed reduction in the number of sites and arrests is
attributable to the introduction of swamp buggy operations to completely
destroy identified illegal refineries, thus making reactivation more
difficult.
“A geo-spatial mapping of destroyed illegal refining sites revealed close proximity of the IRS with crude oil pipeline networks in Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states.
Evidently, criminal elements have continued to threaten national
strategic infrastructure, in spite of ongoing operations, massive
sensitisation and media campaigns.
“The NN has, therefore, resolved to sustain raids on criminal hideouts discovered during aerial surveillances by NN Helicopters.
“Operations TSARE TEKU and Calm Waters are dedicated naval operations
activated in 2016 and this year respectively with the mandate to combat
attacks on shipping and other illegal activities in designated areas.
“Operation Calm Waters focuses on backwater operations while TSARE
TEKU is concerned with operations beyond the coastline. These operations
are partly responsible for the reduction in reported incidents of sea
robbery and piracy within Nigerian waters.
According to records, from January to December 16, this year, a total
of 16 pirate attacks were reported with six successful and 10
unsuccessful.
“This is an improvement in comparison to the records for last year
where a total of 34 pirate attacks were reported with nine successful
and 25 unsuccessful. To rid Nigerian waters of the threats posed by
pirates as well as the attendant economic implications, the NN will
continue to sustain and improve on current efforts in Operations TSARE
TEKU and Calm Waters.
“The NN, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies,
activated Operation Swift Response to curtail the increasing threat
posed by smuggling in Nigeria.
“On its part, the NN inducted more patrol boats and vessels to
bolster the ongoing anti-smuggling and border security operation, in
support of the Federal Government’s initiative.
“The operation has resulted in several arrests and seizures as shown
on the screen. Specifically, the operation resulted in the confiscation
of about 10 trucks of 33,000 litres of petroleum products (valued at
over N80 million) and seizure of about 14,056 bags of rice worth over
N210 million from August 19 to date.
“To this end, the NN has contributed immensely to addressing menace
of smuggling and other economic crimes within the country’s maritime
environment,” he said.
Continuing, Dick said the NN’s Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA)
facilities ensured prompt reporting of attacks on vessels at sea which
led to foiling of several piracy incidents.
“Through the assistance of the MDA systems, the NN arrested 40 vessels, including 17 fishing vessels for contravening Nigerian Fisheries Act and 25 barges this year in contrast to the arrest of 34 vessels and 11 barges last year,” he said.
Source:https://thenationonlineng.net/reviewing-navys-maritime-security-efforts/
