Maritime Security: FG takes delivery of 2 SMV and 10 fast Interceptor Boats

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (Nimasa) says two the Federal Government on Tuesday in Lagos received two Special Mission Vessels (SMV), as part of the Deep Blue Project.

In a statement by NIMASA’s Head of Corporate Communications, Isichei Osamgbi, the Special Mission Vessels named DB Lagos and DB Abuja are equipped with sophisticated intelligence gathering capabilities for timely detection and response to illegal activities in the Nigerian maritime domain. The statement also says the SMVs will serve as mother vessels for Fast Intervention boats. Aside the SMVs, the Federal Government took delivery of 10 Fast Interceptor Boats, with each of the interceptor boats having a combined engine capacity of 900HP and up to 55knots capacity.

Responding to the development, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside said with the arrival of the SMVs and the installation of other critical assets under the Deep Blue Project, the era of piracy and insecurity on our waterways, was coming to an end. “Today marks a new dawn for a more secure and stable maritime environment in Nigeria. This milestone in asset delivery inches us closer to full operational take-off of the Deep Blue Project, hence it marks a huge victory for the Nigerian maritime sector in the fight against maritime insecurity,” he said.

Recall that at a Press Briefing on the Deep Blue Project in Lagos recently, the Honourable Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi had disclosed that while six armoured personnel carriers were already in the country, the SMV will arrive within the first quarter, and the first unmanned aerial vehicle on a later date. Deep Blue Project is an Integrated Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure initiative of the Federal Government to reduce criminality in Nigeria’s territorial waters and the entire Gulf of Guinea.