The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has expressed concerns over the increase in the spate of attacks on oil-laden vessels coming into Nigerian waters, saying that the frequent attacks on foreign vessels on our territorial waters is destroying Nigeria image abroad.
The corporation lamented that unlike what obtained in the past, to do business on Nigerian waters now costs much more due to the increase in the rate at which foreign vessels are now being attacked on Nigerian territorial waters.
Speaking at a forum in Lagos last week, the head of marine department of the NNPC, Mr Tafida A. Tijani noted with concern that highjacking of vessel is now becoming more frequent on Lagos waters and this is very disturbing for business concerns.
According to him, “there is hardly a day that we don’t receive a call that pirates have attacked a vessel offshore Lagos here, despite the security agents present, this is why when a vessel is coming, it will rather do transshipment”.
He also indicted security agents saddled with responsibility of policing the waters for not living up to their expectations and that “the navies are there, but sometimes the crew members are being molested by security agents, sometimes they are beaten and hospitalized and we have had serious cases like that”.
“We must divert attention to the issue of security and safety because if the waters are not secure, if there is no security of lives and properties people will not want to come into Nigeria to do business, and that is why it will cost 10 times more to come and do business on Nigerian waters. If I want to send a vessel from here to Port Harcourt, it costs more money because they regard the place as a war zone and as such cost more money” he said.
Meanwhile, a former commanding officer at the Western Naval Command; Commodore Pius. O. Ozojiofors told Shipping Position Weekly exclusively that most of the attacks that are recorded on Nigerian waters are successful because the victims chose to go out of sight.
Ozojiofor debunked insinuations of the NNPC when he explained that most of the crew onboard some of the oil tankers and fishing trawlers sometimes live out of sight in order to do illegal business of trading some of their products unknown to the owners of the product or owners of the vessel.
According to him, “it is not easy to have a hitch-free waterway because Nigerian waters are very large, notwithstanding, I believe everything is currently under control because there is constant patrol of the waters by the navy and everything is stable”.
“some of the vessels get attacked because whenever they want to perform their illegal activities, they always go out of sight, this is why the hoodlums gain the advantage of highjacking their vessel but at the end of the day, they come out and make a lot of noise” he said.
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