UPDATED: Fishing vessel ATLANTIC PRINCESS suffers an attack, kidnap in the Gulf of Guinea
By Eyo Nsima
Fishing vessel ATLANTIC PRINCESS has suffered an attack in the Gulf of Guinea, according to FleetMon.
It stated: “Fishing vessel ATLANTIC PRINCESS was attacked and boarded by pirates at 1830 UTC May 19, 2021 in the Gulf of Guinea, 70 nm SE of Accra, Ghana.
“Five crew were kidnapped. According to Dryad, among kidnapped fishermen three Chinese, one Korean, and another one Russian nationalities. As of 0730 UTC May 20, the ship was underway, heading for Accra.”
Previously, a Greek product tanker MARIA E had suffered a major attack in the Gulf of Guinea, according to an earlier report obtained by The Daily, www.thedaily-ng.com.
It had stated: “Greek product tanker MARIA E was attacked and boarded at 1220 UTC Feb 9 northwest of Sao Tome and Principe, while en route from Lome, Togo.
“Ship’s AIS according to available AIS providers, was off since tanker left Lome, in the morning Feb 8. No other information available at the moment, awaiting updates.
“Pirates again, in some 3 days, attacked comparatively small tanker operated by Greeks, and deployed in the Gulf of Guinea.”
It added: “MARIA E is trading in this region since at least Feb 2020, most visited ports being Bata Equatorial Guinea, Pointe Noire, Malabo. Pirates may prefer such tankers for a number of reasons.”
The Gulf of Guinea, had recorded several attacks in recent times. For instance, a Product tanker, known as SEA PHANTOM was attacked and boarded, at around 2330 UTC Feb offshore Douala, Cameroon in the Gulf of Guinea.
Recently, the Nigerian Navy, NN had procured a new hydrographic and oceanographic research vessel to enhance its efforts in tackling insecurity in Nigeria, and by extension the Gulf of Guinea.
The delivery of the new offshore survey vessel 190 LANA, from French Shipyard, OCEA, in Saint Nazaire, France, was taken on April 15, 2021.
Speaking at the Flag Transfer ceremony in France, the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi, said that the LANA was launched in September 2020.
The Minister that was represented by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, said: “The provision of survey services and charting place a crucial role in ensuring safe navigation as well as delivery of maritime security.
“Hence, this vessel will not only enhance the safety of Nigeria’s maritime environment, but the ship will serve as a critical component in the projection of naval power for enhanced maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea. It will also play a critical role in the protection of maritime resources and preservation of law and order at sea, thus, contributing significantly to the promotion of global maritime commerce.
“The completion of the deck molds, completion of hull blocks, hull assembly on the main deck, and the delivery and installation of the main engines at the shipyard. These milestones were the benchmarks which determined the level of work achieved at each stage of the project.
“The building process was successfully completed and the Ship was launched on September 24, 2020, at Les Sables d’Olonne, France. The new Ship with a visual call sign A499 was named NNS LANA apparently conceived as a rebirth of the former Nigeria Navy Ship LANA (A498) which was decommissioned.
“It is also capable of conducting geophysical studies, search and rescue operations as well as patrol duties. The Ship is equipped with state-of-the-art modern survey equipment as well as a well-equipped 7.6m surface vehicle for shallow water surveys. Furthermore, the Ship has an Automatic Weather Station (AWS), wet and dry laboratories, scientific and technical workshops as well as operating and processing rooms for survey data.
“The machineries include, 2 x MTU engines, 3 x CAT main generators, and one emergency, electric propulsion system and other auxiliaries. The Electric propulsion which is operated at survey speed is particularly installed to minimize distortion of data due to machinery noise. The Ship has a maximum speed of 14 knots and a capacity of 50 crew. For security, the ship would be equipped with 30 mm and 2×12.7 mm guns upon arrival in Nigeria. NNS LANA was handed over to the NN in France on January 15, 2021, after the provisional acceptance trials were concluded. The crew training commenced in January 2021 and ended on April 12, 2021.”
He had added: “It would also afford Nigeria the opportunity of keying into the General Bathymetric Charts of the Oceans, GEBCO Seabed 2030 project and the Global Multi-Resolution Topography, GMRT synthesis project, which would ultimately facilitate Nigeria’s accomplishment of its obligation under SOLAS Convention in accordance with President Muhammadu Buhari deliberate and sustained policies on maritime safety and security.”
However, the impact of this and other initiatives is yet to be felt in the Gulf of Guinea, which security has deteriorated to a point where organisations have to make independent plans for their security.
