Piracy and oil theft have significantly reduced in the Niger Delta region, said Rear Adm. David Adeniran, the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Calabar, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Friday.
According to Adeniran, as cited on the sideline of the fourth quarter exercise of the Nigerian Navy, the constant patrol of naval personnel has contributed to the reduction of piracy related incidents in the region and has boosted the confidence and operations of oil platforms, while it also helps the Navy to interrogate other vessels operating in the maritime domain.
Additionally, during the exercise, the ‘man-overboard’ was conducted to enhance the skills of personnel in saving the lives of anyone who may fall into the sea by accident.
On the gunnery exercise, the Commanding Officer of Nigerian Navy Ship Okpabana, Capt. Nnamdi Ekwom, told NAN that the navy was fully committed to the protection of the country’s national resources and that the gunnery exercise was one of the series of activities lined up for the exercise.
Other exercises, such as semaphore, life raft, and flash light for night communication signals, were also conducted at sea during the exercise, NAN reported.
The latest piracy report by IMB has revealed a downward trend for global maritime piracy in 2018 so far, but noted that danger persists in the Gulf of Guinea, with 57 out of the 156 reported incidents occurring in the region and 41 of these in Nigeria specifically. Furthermore, a total of 29 crew members were kidnapped in four separate incidents off Nigeria, out of the 39 crew kidnappings for ransom globally.
