Ocean Marine Security partners PGS to fight piracy with new Secure Anchorage Area
As part of its effort to curb the menace of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea region that is currently rated as a high risk area, Ocean Marine Security, one of the leading maritime security companies in West Africa has partnered with PSG Group, a United Kingdom-based maritime security specialist, to establish a Secure Anchorage Area (SAA) off the coast of Lagos to protect vessels operating within the region.
The SAA, which is located 10 nautical miles (NM) southwest of Lagos water channel, is protected 24/7 by multiple armed patrol boats that enforce a Maritime Exclusion Zone (MEZ) around the anchored vessels to deter potential threats.
Sven Hanson, operations director, Secure Anchorage Area (SAA) West Africa, who spoke with BusinessDay at the launch in Lagos recently, said security was very crucial to the nation’s economic growth, adding that West Africa currently has limited effective and legally endorsed protection that will not risk compromising vessel and cargo insurance cover.
“This is because offshore Lagos, the Nigerian Navy does not allow the use of guards onboard commercial vessels and the marine police have no jurisdiction outside the inland waterways, ports and harbours,” he explained.
He noted that the SAA project was conceptualised as a stop gap aimed at helping to provide ships within the nation’s anchorage area with effective maritime solution that would boost security within the maritime exclusive zone.
On the importance of SAA to the region, he said International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported that the region recorded 58 piracy, armed robbery and kidnapping-related incidents in 2012. By July 2013, the region recorded an additional 31 incidents. On the other hand, reports from Africa’s east coast show a decrease from 237 attacks in 2011 to 75 in 2012.
Nick Dixon, managing director, SAA West Africa, said the launch was a dream come true for the vessels and their crews, especially for those carrying highly inflammable cargo, adding that the Nigerian Navy patrol boat ensures that all the potential threats are neutralised at a significant distance away from where the clients of the SAA are securely anchored.
Other partners in the SAA launch include the Nigerian Navy and the British High Commission.
By: Justice Godfrey Okamgba