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A Monthly Report on Issues of Strategic Significance
THE NIGERIAN NAVY has belatedly embarked on a program of warship and support ship refits to restore the fleet to an operating condition after two decades of declining capability. The first stage of the salvage of a number of naval vessels began in July 2003 when Chief of Naval Staff VADM Samuel I. Afolayan ordered the reactivation of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Ayam, NNS Siri, NNS Yola and the Navy tug Rodolf. With those refits, undertaken in Niger Drydock in Lagos, the Navy is now preparing to resurrect other key combatant and support ships.
Refits were also said to be underway on NNS Ambe, Ofiom, Erin'mi [Vosper Mk. 9 patrol combatant), Agu and Ekun [Combattante IIIB-class missile patrol craft], and refits were scheduled domestically for NNS Aradu, Enyimiri, Damisa, Ekpe, Lana, Ohue and Barama [latter two are Italian Lerici-class mine countermeasures vessels], as well as the tugs Mira and Rima.
Until the return to service of the three warships and the tug in late 2004, the Navy had to rely on the gift of seven former US Coast Guard 180ft. (54.91 meter) buoy tenders, delivered between 2002 and 2004. However, while the transfer of the vessels at least gave the NN some operational, but essentially unarmed, seagoing ships, the 10 knot limitation on the ships, their lack of armament, and the lack of sensors or intercept-trained crews meant that the Navy was unable to fulfill its major mission of intercepting pirate tankers which illegally lifted Nigerian oil from terminals in the Niger Delta region.
The...