Resetting the War Against Piracy

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By Francis Ugwoke
In international trade what determines the cost of shipment is the level of peace in the country and continent involved in every transaction. If conference liners decide to take the risk to ship goods to a country under security challenges, the shippers must be ready to bear the cost. The liners are big time multinational shipowners involved in affreightment to any part of the continent. For countries under war or high security risk, shipowners impose war risk surcharge which could be triple of what should be the normal charge. Nigeria is one of the countries where war risk surcharge is imposed on shippers for close to a decade now. The reason is the security menace on the nation’s territorial waters in the name of armed robbery and piracy. The liners are first confronted by the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) piracy before arriving the Nigerian waters where they do not feel completely safe for the same issue. The pirate attack was at a stage an embarrassment to the country as the liners took a decision to have a contingent of armed guards on board ships during voyage to Nigeria for security reasons. In doing so, they passed the cost to the Nigerian shippers who also passed the cost to the final consumers of trade goods. Perhaps the worst scenario is that nations under the grip of pirates are given bad name and subject to incessant rise in freight charges. A Nigerian security outfit, Ocean Marine Solutions Limited (OMSL) had taken advantage of this issue to offer security services to ships bringing goods to the country. The firm had enjoyed immense patronage from the multinational shipping agencies, charging as much as $2,000 for the first day and $1,500 subsequently daily to provide security for every vessel until the issue became a subject of controversy leading to the cancellation of the security contract. President Muhammadu Buhari had cancelled the contract after recommendation by the Minister of Transportation, Hon Rotimi Amaechi. The argument by Amaechi was that there is nowhere in the world where a private individual company is given such task of securing or protecting the nation’s territorial waters. Buhari while cancelling the contract had directed that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) should be saddled with such responsibility.
Gulf of Guinea
Before now, Somalia held global record as the hottest spot for piracy. But the latest from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), is that the Gulf of Guinea has become the most dangerous in the world accounting for nearly half (43%) of all piracy incidents in the first quarter of 2021. IMB Director, Michael Howlett, warned that “pirates operating within the Gulf of Guinea are well-equipped to attack further away from shorelines and are unafraid to take violent action against innocent crews”
He added,. “It’s critical that seafarers remain cautious and vigilant when travelling in nearby waters and report all incidents to the Regional Authorities and the IMB PRC. Only improved knowledge sharing channels and increased collaboration between maritime response authorities will reduce the risk to seafarers in the region.” To buttress the concerns of the international shipping community over this problem, the United States recently dedicated one of its warships to West Africa to support the fight against piracy. The ship which is known as USS Hershel “Woody” Williams, according to the U.S. Consul General in Lagos, Claire Pierange arrived Lagos recently and specifically assigned to Africa to support in the fight against piracy in GoG. The crew will work and train with the Nigerian Navy on anti-piracy, tactics, techniques, and procedures.
Deep Blue Project
Although the fight against piracy has been on in the past few years of this administration, the cancellation of the secure anchorage area contract by the administration and the bad report from the GoG in respect of piracy may no doubt have compelled the management of NIMASA to redouble its efforts in the fight against piracy not only in Nigeria but beyond her shores. One critical area remains the GoG which has a lot of negative impact on Nigeria’s shipping interest considering the high charges being imposed on Nigerian shippers by conference liners over security concerns in the GoG. Part of the war by NIMASA is the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act which was passed into law in July 2019.With the law, about 13 people have so far been convicted over offences relating to piracy and armed robbery. The first case was the hijack of a tanker vessel in March 2019 involving three pirates. They were later convicted in Port Harcourt Federal High Court. In another incident, it was the case of 10 pirates who boarded a Chinese fishing vessel off the Ivory Coast and kidnapped the crew. They were convicted by a federal high court in Lagos this year.
Deep Blue Assets
As part of the determination to check piracy in the country and GoG, President Muhammadu Buhari few months ago launched the deep blue project being spearheaded by the apex maritime agency, NIMASA.
The deep blue project is taking security issues from all sides, including land, sea and air. It is also coming after President Buhari signed the SPOMO Bill targeted at checking piracy in Nigeria and GoG. Buhari had during the event said he was optimistic that the deep blue project will address all forms of maritime crime. He also said the issue of piracy in the West African sub-region requires synergy among nations of GoG to safeguard the waterways. He said, ‘‘I am confident that the project, which provides a robust maritime security architecture, will enhance maritime domain awareness capability and improve law enforcement action, particularly in the prosecution of suspects under the SPOMO Act which I signed into law in June 2019. ‘‘This flag-off is an important step in the continuing shift in strategic action about regional maritime security. ‘‘It will serve as a benchmark for member states in the Gulf of Guinea and other relevant stakeholders to further develop innovative strategies and align efforts with the subsisting framework to improve maritime security in the region. With shipping accounting for over 80per cent of transport requirements of the global economy, concerted efforts and innovative actions are required to address attendant security challenges”.
Among the security infrastructure assets for the project include two special mission aircrafts for surveillance of Nigeria’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), three special mission helicopters for search and rescue and four unmanned aerial vehicles. The sea assets were identified as two special mission vessels and 17 fast interceptor boats.
Other infrastructure include the Command, Control, Communication, Computer and Intelligence Centre (C4i) for intelligence gathering and data collection for land operations; 16 armoured vehicles for coastal patrol and about 600 specially trained troops for interdiction, known as Maritime Security Unit.
Vows by NIMASA
With the launch of the deep blue project, both NIMASA and Navy have vowed to deal with any security issues on the nation’s territorial waters. The DG of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh said with the deep blue project, there will be deployment of high-tech assets to deal with issues of piracy and armed robbery on the nation’s territorial waters . The high level security assets being deployed is also to respond to the increasing sophistication of these maritime crimes, Jamoh said.
At a meeting with members of the Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN)., he said vessels anchored on the Secure Anchorage Area (SAA), which are off the coast of Lagos were safe in what justifies the presidential intervention which cancelled an earlier contract SAA.
He told the stakeholders, “I can assure you that there is no security vacuum in our waters. From what I know, the SAA is more protected than ever before. The Nigerian Navy has recently deployed 14 warships to enhance security in the area and the wider maritime domain. Other assets, including Special Mission Vessels, interceptor boats, and Special Mission Aircraft, are also being deployed under the Deep Blue Project”.
Jamoh had described the menace of maritime insecurity as an age-long challenge in the industry, adding that government was determined to address the issues, with continuous patrols by dedicated vessels to the SAA.
Reaction from Stakeholders
Reacting to the efforts of the government in addressing the issue of piracy, the Chairman of Shipowners Forum, Mrs Margreth Orakwusi said it was a good development that all hands were on deck to address the piracy issue in Nigeria.
Noting that piracy was a global issue, she said it was good that there is cooperation between the Federal Ministry of Transportation through NIMASA and the military on the war against piracy.
Orakwusi said, “that’s what we’ve been advocating for, that agencies should come together to arrest whatever situation we’re facing and in this project.
“ Some pirates have been convicted under the SPOMO act, though coming late but cheers us up and gives us that confidence that we can now go back to the sea with full force. Remember this problem has been there for many years, so we need to appreciate the efforts made so far and encourage them and as stakeholders, we should contribute our quota and be able to advise them when things are not working”. Orakwusi was of the view that traditional rulers in the riverine areas where these pirates take off from should provide the right intelligence that will lead to the apprehension of the pirates. “ The traditional rulers should wake up to their responsibilities and help this nation to succeed in the deep blue project”, she said.