Tough time for pirates, sea robbers as NIMASA launches satellite surveillance system
It will no longer be business as usual for pirates, sea robbers, and perpetrators of other criminalities on the Nigerian territorial waters as the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has commenced operations of its satellite surveillance system.
The surveillance satellite system which commenced operations last week is aimed at helping the nation in capturing the presence of any vessel that calls Nigeria’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which extends about 200 nautical miles seawards from the coasts of Nigeria.
According to industry close watchers, the satellite system would go a long way in minimising criminal activities that are harmful to the economy, such as oil theft, illegal oil refineries and illegal bunkering in the nation’s maritime domain.
In a statement signed by Isichei Osamgbi, deputy director, public relations of NIMASA, and made available to BusinessDay recently, the agency said putting the satellite system to use has enabled it, in conjunction with the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force, to successfully rescue a Ghanaian fishing vessel, known as ‘Marine 711’, from suspected hijackers.
The Ghana-registered vessel was reportedly hijacked off the coast of Ghana and sailed across Togo and Benin Republic to Nigerian waters when the Embassy of the Republic of Korea contacted the agency to help rescue the vessel, which is owned by its national. The Ghanaian Fisheries Authority and the operators of the fishing vessel joined in requesting NIMASA to bring the incident to a logical conclusion.
In a swift operation coordinated by Warredi Enisuoh, NIMASA’s director of shipping development, the agency’s newly-built satellite surveillance system, which is also made up of ‘Cloud Penetrating Radar’ capabilities, was brought to bear and the incident was resolved within six hours.
Revealing further, the NIMASA boss said the agency’s team, working with the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force, which used sea and air patrols surveillance, respectively, quickly put up a response and reception plan which led to the hijackers abandoning their mission and fleeing.
“The new 24-hour Surveillance Centre has the capability to detect boats, ships and objects of predefined cross-section floating on water. This includes any aircraft that ditches and remains on the surface during satellite over-flight,” the agency explained.
“Its abilities further includes but not limited to setting range rings and restricted areas for which when penetrated by an intruder, the system gives an alarm thereby alerting the operator and watch-keeper,” it further said.
As regards the rescue operation, Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi, director general, NIMASA, expressed satisfaction with the cooperation shown by all parties to the rescue operation, noting that the agency would continue to utilise cutting-edge technology and partnership with the military to secure Nigerian waters from the hands of criminals for enhanced international trade.
“This is the first regional cooperation between NIMASA, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force and the Ghanaian authorities in the anti-piracy war in the Gulf of Guinea, which is hinged on the provisions of the bilateral agreement on regional cooperation on anti-piracy in the Gulf of Guinea,” he said.
Nigeria, as signatory to the International Safety of Life and Sea (SOLAS) and Search and Rescue (SAR) Conventions, is obliged to intervene and provide co-ordination during safety and security-related incidents in her territorial waters and beyond.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) designated Nigeria as one of the five Regional Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres (RMRCCs) in Africa. The country therefore provides SAR and security co-ordination in the waters of Benin Republic, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Sao Tome & Principe and Togo, in addition to its own territorial waters.
Uzoamaka Anagor