Tinubu to Commission 3 Ships,2 Helicopters as Nigerian Navy Clocks 68
...Our Activities Raised Oil Exports to 1.28mpd April ,Says Ogalla
President Bola Tinubu will commission three newly acquired ships and two helicopters for the Nigerian Navy as part of a weeklong ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the Nigerian Navy and declare open an international maritime exhibition in Lagos
The Navy has also disclosed that it’s fight against oil theft increased Nigeria’s crude oil exports from 1.23m barrels per day in March to 1.28mbpd in April 2024
Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla who disclosed this in Abuja at a press conference ahead of the celebration, said the Navy is committed to implement President Bola Tinubu’s directive against crude oil theft.
Ogalla who was represented by Rear Admiral DK Akpan, Chief of Policy and Plans at the naval headquarters said the Nigerian Navy has grown from its humble beginning with a handful of coastal boats ,in 1954 into a force to be reckoned with, not only in the West African Sub-region, but also in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) and indeed the entire sub-Saharan Africa.
Speaking on the successes made under his watch the CNS said the fight against Crude Oil Theft has been a huge success under the auspices of OPERATION DELTA SANITY which was re-launched in January 2024. In the 9 months of its existence, Ogalla said the operation has led to the arrest of various suspects and vessels involved in crude oil theft . Some of these vessels include MT KALI, MT SWEET HARBOUR SPIRIT, MT SAISNIL, MV TOKITO, MT VINILLARIS and MT SWEET MIRI, among others. This has impacted positively on Nigeria’s crude oil production. For instance, OPEC Records for the month of April 2024 state that Nigeria’s Crude Oil Exports rose to #1.28m bpd in April from #1.23m bpd in March.
He added that “In line with its TOTAL SPECTRUM MARITIME STRATEGY, the NN has continued to support land operations in all the Geo-political Zones. The NN has also provide all year-round situation awareness of Nigeria’s maritime domain extending to the limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone through its Maritime Domain Awareness Facilities which enabled early detection and swift response to incidences within the maritime environment.
“This has ensured that Nigeria maintained its zero piracy status in the International Maritime Bureau piracy rating. In terms of fleet renewal, the NN has taken delivery of various platforms which has supported its Anti-piracy, Anti-COT, Anti-IUU and Anti-illegal drug trafficking among others.
“Notably, the NN has taken delivery of its second offshore survey vessel, 2 x 32m FPBs, and 2 x Helicopters. The NN is also expected to take delivery of 2 x 76m OPVs from Turkey later in the year. In the area of infrastructure, the NN has established a composite operations Base in Enugu State to curtail the prevailing insecurities in the SE and NC Regions” he said.
