Boost for Nigerian Navy’s Fleet Recapitalisation Drive

Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that in boosting its fleet recapitalisation, the Nigerian Navy recently took delivery of its first ever purpose-built Offshore Survey Vessel, NNS LANA from France as a critical component in the projection of naval power for enhanced maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea

Although 70 per cent of Nigeria’s economic growth lies on the waterways, the maritime domain is often fraught with the challenges of maritime illegalities ranging from piracy, sea robbery, smuggling, illegal fishing to brazen crude oil theft, proliferation of illegal refinery, destruction of critical infrastructure for oil and gas, reckless violent crimes such as kidnapping, hijack and attack on security forces and many more others.

To tackle this, the Nigerian Navy has had to patrol the endless miles of waterways despite some major challenges like shortage of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), budget constraints, inadequate local ship building capacity for constructing naval vessels and inadequate surveillance.

The challenge is even pronounced given that the navy not just protects Nigeria’s territorial integrity but also contributes its quota at the regional level, by patrolling the waters of the Gulf of Guinea, which is a vast expanse of water stretching almost 6,000km from Senegal to Angola.

But today, some of these challenges are gradually becoming a thing of the past especially when it comes to fleet acquisition, surveillance and ship building capacity.

It is pertinent to state that the foremost desire of every littoral state is to have a fleet with the right mix of platforms to meet its operational objectives in patrolling the vast littoral space.

So for the NN, seeking to overwhelm the criminals in their game, the requirement for enormous capacity upgrade has led to massive fleet recapitalisation, generous logistic support, retooled maintenance facilities and equipment restock, processes recalibration, and manpower boost in quality and quantity.

Fleet Recapitalisation

Any force is only as good as its military equipment; in the case of the NN, its platforms. This is because in improving the domestic and even external maritime environment, aggressive fleet recapitalisation strategy must be enabled.

Firm believers of this ideology, the NN recently boosted its fleet by taking delivery of its first ever purpose-built Offshore Survey Vessel, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) LANA from Saint Nazaire, France. They also signed contract for another 35 metre Offshore Survey Vessel with OCEA.

Construction/Launch
Notably, the construction of the Offshore Survey Vessel 190 MKII (NNS LANA) commenced in December 2019 and the project was divided into four major milestones which were: the completion of the deck molds, completion of hull blocks, hull assembly on the main deck and the delivery and installation of the main engines at the shipyard.

According to the Director of Information (DINFO), Commodore Suleman Dahun, these milestones were the benchmarks which determined the level of work achieved at each stage of the project. The building process was successfully completed and the ship was launched on September 24, 2020 at Les Sables d’Olonne, France.

Handover
In preparation for its onward journey home, NNS LANA was handed over to the Nigerian Navy in France on January 15, 2021 after the provisional acceptance trials was concluded. The crew training however commenced on January 2021 and ended on April 12, 2021.

Flag Transfer
In taking delivery of the ship, a Flag Transfer Ceremony was held in France. This represents the transfer of responsibility, authority and accountability of a vessel from one flag state to another.

Speaking at the Flag Transfer Ceremony, the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (rtd), represented by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo stated that the new vessel was conceived as a replacement to the previous NNS LANA, a survey ship that was decommissioned about 10 years ago.

The minister, who was the special guest of honour at the event, added that the occasion marked a great milestone in the fulfilment of the dream of not only replacing but, enhancing Nigerian Navy’s survey capability. Importantly, the new vessel is expected to fill the void created following the decommissioning of the previous NNS LANA.

Highlighting the import of having a survey vessel like NNS LANA, he said that survey services and charting waterways play a crucial role in ensuring safe navigation as well as delivery of maritime security. Hence, NNS LANA will not only enhance the safety of Nigeria’s maritime environment but the ship will serve as a critical component in the projection of naval power for enhanced maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.

While thanking President Muhammadu Buhari for his commitment towards the recapitalisation of the Nigerian Navy Fleet, he also added that the shop will play a critical role in protection of maritime resources and preservation of law and order at sea, thus contributing significantly to promotion of global maritime commerce.

He further commendedNigeria’s Ambassador to France, Her Excellency Dr (Mrs) Modupe Irele, the management and staff of Messrs OCEA and all others who have contributed one way or the other towards the change of Flag Ceremony, just as he congratulated the Commanding Officer, Captain AB Mahmud and his ships’ company as the pioneer crew of the brand new masterpiece as she begins her voyage into the seas.

On the choice of Messrs OCEA by the Nigerian Navy to construct the new NNS LANA, he said it was based on its impeccable track record of high quality ship building capacity as well as the belief in the company to adhere to agreed time lines, noting that the acquisition of NNS LANA brings to 18 the number of OCEA platforms in the Nigerian Navy’s inventory.

Dignitaries at the event included the Nigerian Ambassador to France, Dr Modupe Irele; the representative of the French Navy, Vice Admiral Oliver Le bas and the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, who represented the Minister of Defence. Others were the CEO OCEA, Mr Roland Joassard and representative of the Ministry of Defence, Major General Benson Akinroluyo.

Boost for Hydrography
According to the DINFO, it is envisaged that the rebirth of NNS LANA would afford the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Department the leverage to successfully and systematically conduct hydrographic surveys and charting of Nigeria’s waters.

He said: “It would also afford Nigeria with the opportunity of keying into the General Bathymetric Charts of the Oceans (GEBCO) Seabed 2030 project and the Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) synthesis project which would ultimately facilitate Nigeria’s accomplishment of its obligation under SOLAS Convention in accordance with President Muhammadu Buhari’s deliberate and sustained policies on maritime safety and security.”

Onward Journey Home

After the inauguration, the NN’s newest Offshore Survey Vessel (NNS LANA) began her homeward journey to Nigeria. According to the DINFO, the voyage will include port visits to Lisbon, Las Palmas, Banjul and Tema-Ghana before it arrives Nigeria on May 17, 2021.

Addressing the ship’s company, the CNS noted that the foremost desire of every littoral state is to have a fleet with the right mix of platforms to meet its operational objectives.

Thus, he acknowledged that the homebound voyage of NNS LANA is yet another milestone achievement in Nigerian Navy’s fleet recapitalisation efforts. According to Admiral Gambo, the induction of NNS LANA to NN will enhance the service capacity in the provision of survey services and charting which are crucial to safe navigation for improved maritime security.

The CNS also said that NNS LANA will serve as a force multiplier in NN’s ability to project naval power for enhanced maritime security in the nation’s maritime environment and the Gulf of Guinea.

Additionally, Vice Admiral Gambo commended the entire NNS LANA ship company for their good conduct since their arrival in France recalling that there has not been any adverse report of any sort.

About NNS LANA
According to the DINFO, the new ship with a visual call sign A499 was named NNS LANA apparently conceived as a rebirth of the former Nigerian Navy Ship LANA (A498) which was decommissioned.

The new NNS LANA (A499) is designed and purposely built to enable the NN conduct hydrographic and oceanographic surveys. It is also capable of conducting geophysical studies, search and rescue operations as well as patrol duties. The ship is equipped with state-of-the-art modern survey equipment as well as a well-equipped 7.6m surface vehicle for shallow water surveys.

Furthermore, the ship has an Automatic Weather Station (AWS), wet and dry laboratories, scientific and technical workshops as well as operating and processing rooms for survey data.

The machineries include two x MTU engines, three x CAT main generators/one emergency generator, electric propulsion system and other auxiliaries. The electric propulsion which is operated at survey speed is particularly installed to minimise distortion of data due to machinery noise. The ship has a maximum speed of 14 knots and a capacity of 50 crew.