Focused effort to fight Gulf of Guinea piracy, oil theft

The surge in piracy and crude oil theft in the Gulf of Guinea is attracting more attention as Nige¬rian Navy and its coun¬terparts from 21 countries, including the United States, last Saturday kicked off a joint multinational maritime security exercise tagged ‘Operation Obangame’ in the Gulf of Guinea to seek solution to the threats.
The participating countries include the navies of US, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal, Angola, Ghana and Cameroun, Equatorial Guinea, Benin Republic, Cote Devoir, Gabon, Togo, Republic of Congo and Sao Tome and Principe, while South Africa is being expected as an observer.
The Gulf of Guinea, which in¬cludes waters off Nigeria, has emerged as a new danger-zone with pirates targeting fuel cargo and loading it onto other ships to sell on the lucrative black market, rather than seeking ransom to release ships, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
Usman Jibrin, a vice admiral and chief of Naval Staff, who noted that Nigerian Navy has the capacity to combat illegality at sea, said the navy must continue to remain at sea to conduct patrol necessary for curbing the menace of crude oil theft.
There is no doubt that the huge resources and potential in the Gulf of Guinea are being undermined by multifaceted domestic, regional and international threats and vulnerabili¬ties, according to Sanmi Alade, rear admiral and flag officer commanding, Western Naval Command.
“Rather than contributing to the stability and economic prosperity for countries in this region, pervasive insecurity in this resource-laden maritime environment has resulted in multi-billion dollars losses annually, significantly constrained investment and economic prospects, growing crime and potentially-adverse political consequences,” he said.
In what has been described as a historic visit to Nigeria, the Turkish Navy last week in Lagos affirmed its readiness to support Nigeria and other African countries on the Gulf of Guinea in the fight against rising pirate attacks on the major commodi¬ties route.
Hasan Usakliogl, vice admiral, Turkish Naval Forces, Commander of the Southern Sea Area, speaking on board TCG ORUCREIS (F-245) at the Lagos port on Wednesday, said: “We are ready to share our experi¬ences with the Nigerian Navy by giving trainings and exercises. We have a good experience that we can share with Nigerian Navy,” adding that the Turkish Navy would bring the experiences it had garnered in fighting piracy in places like Somalia to bear in the training exercise.
Industry analysts have continued to stress the need for collaboration to overcome the challenges posed by sea-based crimes, calling for collec¬tive efforts among maritime nations towards ensuring a safe and secured maritime environment on the Gulf of Guinea.