The attack on the merchant ship; BBC Palonia in the evening of July 2, 2010 in Bonny, Rivers State again draws attention to the vulnerability of ships and seafarers on Nigerian waters. The attack on BBC Palonia was the second within a week, as another unnamed ship was attacked on June 27, 2010 within the same Bony axis.
Reports on the attacks on the unnamed ship revealed that 12 sea robbers in two speed boats attacked a bulk carrier at anchorage. The attackers fired with hand made guns and attempted to board the ship using hooks attached to ropes. The crew of the unnamed ship reportedly raised alarm, directed search light and in turn attacked the robbers with sling shot. The sea robbers fired several shots and finally aborted the attempt and moved away. One member of the crew was wounded in the attack.
The BBC Polonia attack gained instant prominence and once again brought notoriety to Nigeria. In the attack, one of the sailors was said to have been injured. The seamen are from Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine.
Even though the sailors have all been released, the negative impact both on the nation’s maritime sector and its diplomacy is horrendous. Prior to the amnesty that was been granted to Niger Delta militants, attacks on ships were often linked to the restive youths of that region who were accused of masterminding the various attacks on ships, especially within the Niger Delta and sometimes in Lagos.
Sea robberies, as experts have called it, has earned Nigeria a lot of bad names and bad ratings by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) which at a point, rated Nigeria as second only to lawless Somalia on the piracy scale.
As a maritime nation that is not only endowed with a lot of aquatic potentials, but one that is accountable for about 65 per cent of cargo traffic and volume into West and Central Africa, the security of her channels must not be compromised a vast coastline, Nigeria can not afford to gamble with the security of its territorial waters and its channels.
This realisation probably accounts for the attention that the issue of maritime security is currently generating, so much so that the trio of Nigeria Navy, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security (PICOMSS) are currently locked in battle over securing Nigeria waters. The battle has now shifted to the National Assembly, after the recent meeting at the office of the National Security Adviser who reportedly directed the various interests to go and slug it out among themselves. Also in the race is the move by certain interests to create a Coast Guard, this is being mooted by the chairman, Senate committee on marine transport, Senator Gbemi Saraki.
The Maritime Security Agency (MSA) bill which seeks to create a body that will become the body corporate in all matters relating to security of persons, cargoes, ships and all marine crafts within the nation’s territorial waters. Both NIMASA and Navy seek to entrench their existing partnership to continue to provide the same service that the MSA seeks to perform, while the Coast Guard Bill seeks t carve out a Coast Guard similar to what obtains in the United State of America (USA).
The recent attacks are pointers to the fact that the nation’s waterways, channels and the various terminals (including oil and gas terminals) are far from being safe.
Rather than fight over which agency should take charge of maritime security, the various government agencies should first burry their heads in shame. It is a fact that the Navy; as an entity has failed, that the Joint Military Task (in the Niger Delta) has failed and that the partnership between NIMASA and the Navy has also failed woefully.
While these agencies fight to either secure their empires or expand existing but largely ineffective frontiers, the International Maritime Bureau is inundated with reports of daily attacks on ships and crew on Nigerian waters.
As for the National Assembly, one of the things that Nigerians require of it is that the MSA bill should be treated in earnest so that the nation’s waterways and channels will be adequately protected. Time is fast running out and it is expected that the Senate should either tow the line of House of Representatives by passing the bill and end the daily assault on Nigerian waters or end the suspense by throwing the bill out.
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