By Chiemelie Ezeobi
The Nigerian Navy is set to generate revenue for the country through its newly acquired hydrographic vessel, the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) LANA.
The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, disclosed this in Apapa, Lagos, yesterday at the reception of NNS LANA, after the vessel sailed from France to Nigeria.
According to Gambo, the vessel would also be deployed in Nigeria waters and anywhere it services are required, in order to boost hydrographic efforts within the Nigerian maritime space.
He said: “Where we get patronage from the Gulf of Guinea and other parties as may be, we will render services at a cost.
“So, the vessel is a revenue-generating asset for the country, the Nigeria navy and other maritime agencies.
“It’s a revenue generating asset in the sense that the Nigerian hydrographer had been given approval to produce navigation charts for the country and the countries in West and Central Africa.
“Therefore, the people, such as maritime stakeholders, will now have to pay for such charts in order to procure them for their safe navigation.
“The induction of NNS LANA will enhance the capacity of the service to conduct hydrographic survey and provide charting service for safe navigation as well as delivery for maritime security.”
Noting that the vessel would soon join other naval ships at seas to contribute to the navy’s efforts in the defence of the country’s maritime environment, the CNS added that the federal government has embraced the blue economy initiative in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal-14 agenda.
Gambo said: “The agenda entails the sustainable exploration and exploitation of vast resources in the country’s maritime environment.
“The provision of quality hydrographic services is key to the development of the various sectors of the blue economy.
“Therefore, the acquisition of this survey vessel is an affirmation of the federal government commitment towards the country’s economic development.”
The naval chief further noted that the navy would collaborate with other maritime stakeholders to actualise the country’s vision of developing a sustainable economy that would contribute to it socio-economic prosperity.
While thanking President Muhammadu Buhari for the enormous support to the navy’s recapitalisation effort, the CNS also pledged that routine maintenance on the vessel would be sacrosanct.
“The vessel is a specialised and sophisticated one, therefore, we have consciously procured both consumables and other spare parts that would last the next two to three years while she is in service.
“Also, the usual dockyard maintenance routine will also be observed, just like other vessels in the course of its service,” he added.
Earlier, the Flag Officer Commanding, Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Jason Gbassa, noted that the new acquisition was an asset to the naval fleet.
According to him, “Putting it in context, the Nigerian navy capacity to conduct hydrographic survey that would assure safety of naval and merchant traffic over the sea was significantly impaired with the absence of a hydrographic ship in the navy fleet.
“With NNS LANA joining the fleet, going forward, the maritime industry can be assured of getting improved and reliable hydrographic data and information from the navy to guide maritime activities.”
