Deep Blue Project: NIMASA Acquires Two UAS, Nine Boats, 10 Armoured Vehicles

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) have acquired and taken delivery of additional mobile assets for enhanced maritime security under the deep blue project.
Two unmanned aircraft systems, nine interceptor patrol boats and 10 armoured vehicles have been added to the existing assets earlier procured by the Federal Government and commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, who applauded the President for his sustained support in the fight against sea piracy and other maritime crimes, said the additional equipment would improve the gains recorded in securing the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) and Nigerian maritime domain.
Jamoh, who described the recent Guinea Maritime Collaboration Forum (GOG-MCF/SHADE) meeting in Abuja as a huge success in rallying international support for the suppression of maritime insecurity, added that Nigeria’s commitment to regional maritime security would be sustained.
He recommended the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act emplaced by Nigeria as a robust statute that supports the enforcement of maritime law, which other countries were considering replicating.
“Nigeria is improving on her capacity to fight maritime crime by procuring state-of-the-art technology, upgrading human capacity for effective service delivery and deployment of the assets for round-the-clock patrol, interdiction and reconnaissance with the support of Nigerian Navy and other security agencies we signed MoU.
“Indeed we are further encouraged by President Buhari’s support all the time to ensure adequate security of crew members, vessels and cargoes within and around our waters.
The newly procured assets would assist us in building on the gains already recorded in the fight against piracy, sea robbery, oil theft, kidnapping and illegal fishing, among others,” Jamoh said.
He explained that the main objective of the Deep Blue Project, which is aimed at securing Nigerian waters up to the GOG, has three categories of platforms to tackle maritime security on land, sea and air.
Its land assets include the Command, Control, Communication, Computer and Intelligence Centre (C4i) for intelligence gathering and data collection; 16 armoured vehicles for coastal patrol and 600 specially trained troops for interdiction, known as the Maritime Security Unit.
Before the recently procured platforms, the deep blue project had sea assets including two Special Mission Vessels and 17 Fast Interceptor Boats, while the air assets comprises two Special Mission Aircraft for surveillance of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), three Special Mission Helicopters for search and rescue operations and four Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, among others.