Nigerian Navy Accepts NNS Okpabana Warship After Refurbishment
The Nigerian Navy accepted a new warship NNS Okpabana on January 2, 2015, Friday, NAN reports.
The vessel was donated by the United States government to boost Nigeria’s naval capabilities in the face of security challenges in its waters and the Gulf of Guinea.
The ownership of the ship was formally transferred from the U.S.A. to Nigeria in May 2014. It was the second ship donated by the U.S., following the first, NNS Thunder.
Despite free of charge delivery, an approximate sum of USD8.5m
(N1.6bn) was spent on refurbishing the vessel and emplacing its
armaments.
The vessel has been received in Lagos, by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin.
“The addition of this ship into the NN fleet will certainly bolster our zeal to end the menace in our maritime domain and the region, as well as support the regional and global effort to eliminate transnational maritime threats.
The vessel was donated by the United States government to boost Nigeria’s naval capabilities in the face of security challenges in its waters and the Gulf of Guinea.
The ownership of the ship was formally transferred from the U.S.A. to Nigeria in May 2014. It was the second ship donated by the U.S., following the first, NNS Thunder.
NNS Okpabana was donated by the United States government. Photo: PremiumTimes
The vessel has been received in Lagos, by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin.
“The addition of this ship into the NN fleet will certainly bolster our zeal to end the menace in our maritime domain and the region, as well as support the regional and global effort to eliminate transnational maritime threats.
“This nation has always requested the navy to do more and
with this, the government recognises that there must be needed platform
for the navy to do its job well.
“The present government headed by President Goodluck Jonathan took the recapitalisation of fleets as a huge challenge and has invested huge funds through the acquisition of two Off-Shore Patrol Vessels (OPV) from China and this one from USA.
“It is hoped that by the time we take delivery of all, the NN will be better for it,” the vice admiral said.
The chief of naval staff further noted that the two warships (Okpabana and Thunder) would be located and serve in the same command.
On the partnership between Nigeria and China on the upgrading of the Port Harcourt shipyard, the naval chief said the Chinese team was expected to be in Nigeria by the first quarter of this year.
He also revealed that a second locally built ship has been launched, adding that the engineering team would proceed with the fittings and installations of all ancillaries. Once that was done, the ship would be put to sea:
“NNS ARADU is not the first ship built for Nigeria. All our ships before now were built for NN and to our specification,” Jibrin said.
The U.S. embassy was represented at the ceremony by the US Consul General, Jeffery Hawkins.
Designed as a high endurance cutter, OKPABANA has a crossing range of 9,600 nautical miles, which is translated at 17,800km at 20 knots.
The ship also has an 80 foot flight deck that is capable of handling helicopters which of course make her an ideal platform for extended patrol mission, as well as a crew capacity of 170 personnel.
The U.S-made vessel came at a time of strained relations between Nigeria and the United States, primarily over the fight against the Boko Haram Islamist group.
The Federal Government accuses the US of not fully supporting its military effort against the jihadist group, by refusing to sell Nigeria quality weapons needed for strategic operations.
The US administration accuses Nigeria of human rights abuses in the war against terrorism, and says its laws prohibit sales of weapons to nations with questionable human rights record.
In 2014, the disagreement led to the cancellation of a training programme by American specialists for Nigerian troops.
It is not clear how the transfer of the ship will change relations between the two nations, as the new vessel will focus on maritime security and would play little or no role in the war against Boko Haram terrorism in the North East.
“The present government headed by President Goodluck Jonathan took the recapitalisation of fleets as a huge challenge and has invested huge funds through the acquisition of two Off-Shore Patrol Vessels (OPV) from China and this one from USA.
“It is hoped that by the time we take delivery of all, the NN will be better for it,” the vice admiral said.
The chief of naval staff further noted that the two warships (Okpabana and Thunder) would be located and serve in the same command.
On the partnership between Nigeria and China on the upgrading of the Port Harcourt shipyard, the naval chief said the Chinese team was expected to be in Nigeria by the first quarter of this year.
He also revealed that a second locally built ship has been launched, adding that the engineering team would proceed with the fittings and installations of all ancillaries. Once that was done, the ship would be put to sea:
“NNS ARADU is not the first ship built for Nigeria. All our ships before now were built for NN and to our specification,” Jibrin said.
The U.S. embassy was represented at the ceremony by the US Consul General, Jeffery Hawkins.
Designed as a high endurance cutter, OKPABANA has a crossing range of 9,600 nautical miles, which is translated at 17,800km at 20 knots.
The ship also has an 80 foot flight deck that is capable of handling helicopters which of course make her an ideal platform for extended patrol mission, as well as a crew capacity of 170 personnel.
The U.S-made vessel came at a time of strained relations between Nigeria and the United States, primarily over the fight against the Boko Haram Islamist group.
The Federal Government accuses the US of not fully supporting its military effort against the jihadist group, by refusing to sell Nigeria quality weapons needed for strategic operations.
The US administration accuses Nigeria of human rights abuses in the war against terrorism, and says its laws prohibit sales of weapons to nations with questionable human rights record.
In 2014, the disagreement led to the cancellation of a training programme by American specialists for Nigerian troops.
It is not clear how the transfer of the ship will change relations between the two nations, as the new vessel will focus on maritime security and would play little or no role in the war against Boko Haram terrorism in the North East.
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