Preparedness for Harbour, Base Defence

The Western Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy last week kicked off Operation Awkward in its areas of responsibility by engaging its aerial, surface and underwater elements. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that it was to assess the response of men and assets to defend the harbour and base against any threat or emergency

It was on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 when the stillness of the air at the Western Naval Command (WNC), Apapa, Lagos, was broken by the wailing of sirens emanating from ships and vessels anchored at the jetty. To the untrained, it was a move to panic but for the several officers and men of the command and by extension, the Nigeria Navy Ship (NNS BEECROFT), it was a signal to kickstart the drills, which are part of the stimulation to herald the 2021 Operation Awkward.

Objectives

For the navy, Operation Awkward, also known as Operation Oluso, is an exercise that reinforces their determination to keep their fleet and harbour secured and safe. Also, it serves as an opportunity to assess ships and the establishment’s readiness to carry out emergency tasks at short notice, as well as to check the state of ships, boats and other platforms under the command.

Therefore, in line with the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo’s Strategic Guidance of “improving the operational efficiency of NN’s fleet in terms of sea readiness and its availability for operational deployments to speedily boost the navy’s capacity to meet its statutory maritime commitments”, the WNC kicked off its harbour defence exercise tagged “Operation Awkward” in its areas of responsibility (AOR).

According to the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), WNC, Rear Admiral Jason Gbassa, the objectives include to assess the capacity and operational readiness of WNC ships in harbour defence; assess the capacity and readiness of WNC bases and units in the conduct of base security; practice the participating units in the use of MDA assets in surveillance, threat assessment and op engagement; identify possible shortcomings in the capacity, training and doctrinal practices in NN harbour defence/base security procedures; and demonstrate to the public the capacity, reach and poise of the NN in defending its ships and establishments against external aggression.

Stating that in this operation, there were air, surface and underwater elements, he noted that they were involved to ascertain the state of readiness of all assets, adding that “the objectives of the exercise is to work up the men, the ship’s company, that is every department that comprises the constitution of a ship, to see the state of readiness of all our assets.

“In this operation there are air elements, surface elements, underwater elements which were all involved. So we need to test to see how ready we are in the case where there is a threat to the security of the base. One thing that must be made clear is that all military operations are based upon intelligence so there is no exception with this, but there is no practical intelligence to show that this base is under attack,” he added.

Kick off

At the kick off, the drill first started with the sirens from the vessels before the boats and helicopters did the tactical manoeuvres and habour patrols. The medical wing was not left out as an evacuation was carried out by the paramedics and the rescued person rushed to the ambulance, which in turn conveyed the injured person to a waiting helicopter for onward movement to the hospital. Also, divers went underwater to check for possible threats.

While all these were ongoing, communication was key as all those involved kept base with each unit, thereby ensuring an almost seamless process.

Assessment

At the end of the operation, the FOC, who assessed the entire process, adjudged the command prepared for any threat, just as he rated the personnel high.

He said: “I would score the men very high. The response was impressive starting from the divers that went underwater to check around the underwater aspect of the ship as well as the surface elements that man the boats alongside the boats that sounded alarms to make sure that any intruder does not have a free reign to access the ships, to the air elements of the helicopter’s response to the reaction of the medical team in the case of eventualities. We are prepared as it is now incase there is any threats.”

Essentially, the FOC added that “all together, the entire base was involved starting for NNS BEECROFT that provided the support we needed and to every ship alongside out to the Air Base in Ojo”, thus signalling its state of readiness to defend establishments under its AOR.

From the sirens to the aerial and water manoeuvres to the underwater search by divers to the medical evacuation carried out by paramedics, the stimulation was started and completed in record time, thus signalling the readiness of the command to defend its habour and base.