Gulf of Guinea Focus: Week 20
- Agwe Global
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
The Nigerian Navy is strengthening its strategic partnership with the United Arab Emirates to boost maritime security and protect vital trade routes in the Gulf of Guinea. Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Idi Abbas reaffirmed this commitment during a meeting with UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Saylem Saeed Alshamsi, the Navy said in a statement Monday.
The two sides discussed enhanced maritime domain awareness, shipbuilding cooperation, naval technology transfer, and joint operations against piracy, crude oil theft, sea robbery and other transnational threats. Ambassador Alshamsi praised the Nigerian Navy’s recent operational successes, particularly Operation DELTA SENTINEL, which recently resulted in the seizure of a large cache of stolen crude oil and petroleum products.
Seven stowaways have been found on the rudder of a Belgian tanker off Ghana.
Ghana Armed Forces said on Monday that the men were arrested after being removed from the 158,800-dwt Cap Felix (built 2008), which is part of the private fleet of the Saverys family, owners of CMB.Tech.
The operation was carried out by the Ghanaian Navy on Sunday following a distress call from the Belgium-flagged suezmax processed through the Maritime Operations Centre.
The centre had received information from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Abidjan in Ivory Coast, from where the vessel had departed.
The tanker reported the presence of “persons inside its rudder trunk and requested immediate assistance”, the military said.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) says the reduction in war risk insurance premiums is a clear reflection of Nigeria’s sustained progress in maritime security, following four years of zero piracy incidents on the country’s waterways.
The director general of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dayo Mobereola, made this known at the graduation ceremony of 177 personnel trained under the Deep Blue Maritime Operations, C4i capability and demonstration programme held in Lagos.
He said the country’s anti-piracy achievements have significantly improved Nigeria’s global maritime image, reduced security-related shipping costs, and strengthened investor confidence in the sector.
According to him, the success recorded under the Deep Blue Project has been instrumental in Nigeria maintaining a piracy-free record for four years, leading to lower war risk charges on vessels operating within Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea.
Nigeria’s maritime security drive recorded another major milestone as the Deep Blue Project showcased new operational capabilities and graduated 177 personnel trained to strengthen safety across the country’s waters and the wider Gulf of Guinea by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
The initiative has significantly reduced piracy and restored confidence in Nigeria’s maritime domain, marking one of the most visible security gains in recent years.
Before the full deployment of the Deep Blue assets, Nigeria recorded about 35 piracy incidents in 2020. However, following the operational rollout of the programme, that number has reportedly dropped to just six, highlighting what authorities describe as a major turnaround in maritime security operations.
The event, tagged the Deep Blue Maritime Operational and C4i Capability Demonstration and Graduation Ceremony, brought together senior military and maritime officials, highlighting the growing coordination among security agencies tasked with protecting Nigeria’s coastal waters.
The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr Dayo Mobereola, has stressed the agency’s resolve to strengthen its partnership with other security agencies in the country to tackle insecurity in Nigeria’s territorial waters.
The NIMASA boss stated this on Tuesday at the Deep Blue Maritime Operational Sea Demonstration and graduation ceremony held in Navy Town, Lagos.
“I wish to reiterate the shared vision to ensure the sustainability of the Deep Blue project. It is our commitment to strengthen these partnerships for the overall progress of the Nigerian maritime industry.
“Together, we shall continue to build a maritime sector that is safe, secure, resilient, and capable of driving sustainable economic growth for Nigeria and the entire world,” he noted.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, on Tuesday demonstrated the growing operational strength of the Deep Blue Project as 177 maritime security personnel graduated from specialised trainings aimed at enhancing safety and surveillance within Nigeria’s territorial waters and the Gulf of Guinea.
The graduation ceremony, which followed a comprehensive operational and Command, Control, Communication, Computer and Intelligence (C4i) capability demonstration of the Deep Blue assets, highlighted the Federal Government’s continued investment in maritime security and inter-agency collaboration under the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, popularly known as the Deep Blue Project.
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