Nigernian Navy History Phase IV: 1999 – 2009
- 2002 Re-strucuring of NHQ and establishment of Naval Medical Center, Onne
- Sep 02 NN Logistics Corps established.
- Mar 03 NNS KYANWA ad OLOGBO (Cat Class joined NN fleet)
- 2003 NNO establishing Sea Training Command Promulgated
- Jul 03 Reactivation of NN Ships commenced
- Sep 03 NNS NWAMBA joined the NN Fleet
- Mar 04 NNS OBULA joined the NN Fleet
- May 04 Four additional Agusta helicopters joined the NN Fleet Air Arm
- 10 - 15 May 04 Exercise TAKUTE EKPE (Joint Amphibious Landing)
- Feb 05 Relocation of NN
Medical Staff Training School from Apapa, Lagos State to Offa,
Kwara State
Following the democratic dispensation in 1999, Nigeria was re-integrated into the community of nations. However, the adverse effects of years of sanction continued to manifest as the maintenance constraints of the previous period persisted. Not much was achieved in maintenance but the period was used to appraise and plan for mass local refit. Availability of ships was so poor that the Nigerian Navy could not procure ships to participate in a combined exercise with visiting German and US ship in the year 2000 due to the lack of operational ships. Thus, maintenance and availability of ships in the Nigerian Navy were poor during this period.
EXERCISE TAKUTE EKPE was a joint amphibious exercise conducted in year 2004. This exercise was a near failure as logistics and technical problems nearly hampered its successful conduct. Similarly, EXERCISE IGBOCHI took place in December 2005 as the Chief of the Naval Staff Annual Sea Inspection. During this period, Nigerian Navy operational efficiency suffered due to non availability of ships. Though marginally successful, logistics support for EXERCISE IGBOCHI on its part was fraught with avoidable lapses in the areas of delayed embarkation of POL, ration and other stores were done manually as a result of the technological enviroment.
However between 1999 and 2003, most of the Naval ships that participated in ECOMOG returned to Nigeria un-operational and the international sanction never allowed Nigeria to get the supply of spare parts and the Nigeria waters was left unpatrolled for about 5 years. As a result, the country's maritime environment became plagued by acts of economic sabotage resulting in enormous economic losses. For example, losses from crude oil theft alone was estimated at 1.2 billion US Dollars annually.
The youth's restiveness and ethnic militia activities in the Niger Delta started around this period as a mere group agitating for development and resource control, but later got involved in criminal activities like pipe line vandalisation and oil theft. This was largely used to dominate the Nigerian maritime environment and subsequently undermined her national security. Also, Jetty facilities started deteriorating at this period, lack of water supply to the ships, and inadequate power supply has started taking its toll on the Nigerian Navy. The slipways that were built in the 1970s started giving way due to the lack of maintenance.
The continued economic sabotage in the nations' maritime environment by Niger Delta militant can be traced to the inability of the Nigerian Navy in performing its policing roles. This can be attributed to the inadequacies in Nigerian Navy ships' maintenance activities which led to lack of ship's availability for such naval operations. Nigeria's low technological base cannot support maintenance in the Nigerian Navy to make ship available for operations. As a result the Nigerian Navy continued to be over-dependent on foreign manufacturers for spares and expertise. In the year 2006 alone for example, the total quantity of crude oil lost to illegal oil theft was 257,600,000 barrels. The Nigerian Navy was able to recover only 15 metric tons or 2,385 barrels only (1 metric tons = 158.97 barrels). This translates to $174,072,000 at the rate of $74 per barrel.
This necessitated the procurement of smaller type of boat with high speed and less sophisticated guns commensurate with the type of operations in the creeks. Four United State Coast Guard ships were acquired in 2002. They are NNS OBULA, KYANWA, NWAMBA and OLOGBO. The nature of Nigerian Navy operation at this time was Brown Water Operations necessitated by the acts of economic sabotage in Niger Delta area. The task of the ships were first to arrest the illegal bunkering activities in the Niger Delta regions, and patrol the offshore maritime assets (oil rigs) environment.
These ships were with a different technology that needed a separate maintenance adaptation. Most of the mechanisms are electrically controlled and the expertises are needed for both the maintenance and upkeep of these vessels. The technological environment at this period witnessed ship repairs at depot maintenance level, which had started at the NND. The CAT Class of ships could go for the depot maintenance refit, but not without problems with spares. This they did in 2003/2004. Though, initially spare parts came with the ships, with the enormous tasks to which the ships were deployed in the first 2 years, they soon became un-operational due to over-use and dearth of spares. The MANTA Class of ship was also freighted into the country in 2009. (2 x 17 metre and 2 x 38 metre Boat). They are made of simple technology, and with manual guns.
Equally, the technological environment of Nigeria is improving with an attempt by NND to construct an SDB which started in 2007. The NND was able to provide Nigerian Navy ships with the requirementsto float while the requirements to move and fight have been marginally achieved. This is not unconnected with the various problems already enumerated in the various workshops which include, inadequate funding. Thus, the ability of Nigerian Navy ships to participate in naval operations after local refit is compromised as a result of all the aforementioned problems.
Considering the operational state of 27 ships and 36 Inshore Patrol Craft (IPC) in the Nigerian Navy inventory docked at the NND between 2002 and 2007, only 11 IPC representing 30.5% were operational while 25 IPC representing 69.5% were not operational. Furthermore, out of the 16 ships refitted between 2003 and 2007, seven, representing 43.75%, were operational while 9 representing 56.25% were not operational. The low operational state of Nigerian Navy fleet has been attributed to poor human capital, inadequate facilities, poor planning and coordination of maintenance at the NND. These constraints have severely degraded the Nigerian Navy's capacity to embark on ship building. The expectedtechnology transfer for shipbuilding could not be acquired because of inadequate infrastructure, inexperience workforce, non-availability of feeder industry and inadequate funding.
In spite of the drawbacks, Nigeria has attained the technological stage where she could successfully build ships with inputs from other countries as is the practice worldwide. The building of a Seaward Defence Boat at the NND perhaps gives credence to such optimism. The Nigerian Navy commenced the construction of an SDB at the NND on 17 December 2007. The Project coordinator confirmed that the Nigerian Navy has spentabout N212.5 million and requisitioned Caterpillar propulsion and power generator engines as well as gear boxes. While these machineries were awaited, construction of the hull was completed.
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