NNS Kada, ISPS Will Strengthen Maritime Security In Nigeria, Says JAMOH

·          As UK Organisation Comments Nigerian Agencies On Synergy

Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh, has declared that the arrival of Nigerian Naval Ship NNS KADA will enhance security in the Nigerian maritime domain, and commended the Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral AZ Gambo for this achievement.
Jamoh who joined the Chief of Naval Staff at the Naval Dockyard in Lagos to witness the arrival of the ship from the United Arab Emirates commended the Nigerian Navy, which he described as a critical partner in the actualisation of its maritime security mandate.
He said: “The platform would also help in consolidating on the safer passage being recorded for vessels, cargoes and crew members transiting through the Gulf of Guinea while also fighting oil theft and other maritime-related vices within the country’s maritime domain.”
Speaking during a tour of the vessel, the NIMASA DG assured the Chief of Naval Staff that the Agency is committed to strengthening the collaboration between both organs of Government by providing logistics support for the maintenance of the NNS KADDA.
The newly acquired warship arrived at the Apapa Port after 56 days of voyage and port calls to about five countries.
NNS Kada was ordered from Damen Group in 2019 and built at Albwardy Damen Shipyard in Sharjah, United Arab Emirate (UAE), laid down in December 2019, launched in June 2021 and handed over to the Nigerian Navy in Sharjah on March 30, 2022. The vessel departed for Nigeria on April 1, 2022, and prior to its arrival in Lagos, made stopovers in at least five countries namely: Angola (Luanda), Gabon (Port Gentil), Kenya (Mombasa), Oman (Port of Duqm) and South Africa (Cape Town).
Based on Damen’s LST 100 design, the ship will be used for strategic transportation of equipment and troops, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations and to project maritime security into the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).
With 1,300DWT, an overall length of 100m and a 16m beam, the LST is capable of carrying a crew complement of 32 plus 16 embarked marine forces (EMF) in the deckhouse, with accommodation for an additional 234 EMF at mid-ship below the main deck.
NNS Kada is powered by two Caterpillar 3516 diesel engines and four Caterpillar C18 generators to provide a top speed of 16kt and a standard range of 4,000 nm 15kt.
It features a bow ramp and davits for two landing crafts, a 540-m² roll-on/off (Ro-Ro) deck, and a 420m² cargo deck for dry stores and ammunition. The ship deck has the capacity to carry a medium-sized helicopter.

Besides, Jamoh pointed out that the implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS), is a major component of the security architecture NIMASA was implementing in the Nigerian maritime domain.

He stated this when the Deputy Head of the International Maritime Security Operations Team, (IMSOT), Jim Hamilton, led a team on a working visit to assess the level of compliance of some port facilities in the country with the ISPS Code.
Jamoh, who was represented by the Executive Director of Operations, Shehu Ahmed, noted that the importance of effective implementation of the ISPS Code regime could not be overemphasised.

This, he said, necessitated the need to domesticate the ISPS Code Implementation Regulations since 2014, bearing in mind that it is an integral aspect of the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), Convention, just as he welcomed the peer review mechanism from IMSOT.
“We at NIMASA have such a peer review arrangement with the United States Coast Guard, which has been highly effective in developing capacity for ISPS Code implementation. We are working to extend the relationship to other countries. This we believe will ensure that our personnel possess the requisite skills and competencies to execute their responsibilities in line with the mandate of the ICIR 2014. The importance of the exposure of our personnel to the legal regimes and security operations of other contracting governments is not lost on us”. He said.
While assuring the team that steps have been taken to address areas of concern raised during their last visit in 2018, he informed the IMSOT team that NIMASA was also taking steps to tackle the activities of pirates in the Gulf of Guinea through the Deep Blue Project initiative, in addition to the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act, which is gradually yielding results.
Speaking after a working visit to some Port Facilities in Lagos, Deputy Head of International IMSOT, Jim Hamilton, expressed satisfaction at the level of cooperation and synergy existing among Government Agencies in the Nigerian maritime industry adding that they will share knowledge with NIMASA to ensure optimum implementation of the ISPS Code in Nigeria.
Hamilton also expressed the readiness of IMSOT to share ideas on their operations in the United Kingdom (UK) and to train personnel of the Agency to foster better cooperation with Nigeria.
“The initiative will not only foster collaboration and cooperation through knowledge acquisition and sharing among member states, but also consolidate the gains in implementing maritime security as well as identify areas of improvement for both parties,” he said.