Nigeria’s oil thieves roar back as militants kept in check

By ELISHA BALA-GBOGBO

ABUJA (Bloomberg) — Just as Nigeria gets to grips with militants who brought the nation’s oil industry to its knees a few years ago, another group of longstanding foes are slowly making a comeback: thieves.

Saboteurs including thieves caused an 80% increase in the number of spills in 2018, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the largest international producer in the West African country, said in a report last month. By contrast, there have been no militant-related halts to operations since 2016.

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Source: worldoil.com

Why pipeline vandalism, crude theft exist in Niger- Delta

by Akinola Ajibade

The decision by the Federal Government to delay the implementation of the community engagement standards in Niger-Delta may have resulted in the spate of unwholesome activities in the region, an energy expert, Meka Olowola, has said.

He said the activities include pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft and other untoward practices in the region, adding that the development has slowed down oil production in Nigeria.

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Source: thenationonlineng.net

Switzerland drags Nigeria to Intl tribunal over seized ship

Switzerland has asked an international court to order Nigeria to release a Swiss-flagged oil tanker, its cargo and crew that have been detained off Port Harcourt for the past 16 months.

The Swiss foreign ministry said in a statement weekend that it had appealed on May 21 to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to order Nigeria to release the San Padre Pio tanker.

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Source: orientdailynews.com.ng

Contact Group On Piracy Might Be Extended To Include Gulf Of Guinea – Russian Envoy To UN

Faizan Hashmi

The geographic mandate of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) might be broadened to combat piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, Russia‘s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy said during UN Security Council consultations on the situation in the Central African region.

“Our country has had a positive experience in international efforts to fight piracy in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean as part of the Contact Group on this fight off the coast of Somalia. We hope that this experience might be useful for resolving similar issues in the Gulf of Guinea, including in the context of possibly broadening the geographic mandate of the Contact Group to include the Gulf of Guinea,” Polyanskiy said on Tuesday.

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Source: urdupoint.com

Pirates on rampage on Port Harcourt waterways in Rivers

Okafor Ofiebor

Port Harcourt – Suspected sea pirates on Monday attacked seafarers travelling on Port Harcourt-Bille waterways in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, injuring scores of passengers and robbing them of money, goods worth millions of naira, including the hijacking of their Commercial boats.

A Bille Community leader, Adokiye Bibi, who confirmed the latest pirates’ attack also stated that between Saturday, June 1 to Tuesday June 4, over seven commercial boats have been attacked by sea pirates and hijacked from their owners.

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Source: pmnewsnigeria.com

Maritime Security News: The Nigerian authorities regularly complain that incidents of armed robbery on Delta waterways are wrongly described as incidents of piracy. Looks like the message hasn’t filtered through to the media…

Oil rig worker kidnapped in Nigeria has been freed after a month

Emma Yeomans

A Scottish oil worker held captive in Nigeria has been freed a month after armed men stormed his rig.

John Hiddleston, 65, was working on a rig in the Delta region when gunmen dragged him and two others, a Canadian and a Nigerian, into a swamp.

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Source: thetimes.co.uk

Navy Recruits 1,176 To Fight Sea Pirates

The Nigerian Navy has recruited 1,176 young men and women to aid the fight against sea pirates and oil bunkers in the nation’s maritime domain.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, stated this in a statement made available to The Tide shortly after the passing out parade of Batch 28, Basic Training School in Onne. He said the trainees underwent rigorous physical and mental training for seven months to prepare them for internal security operations across the country.

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Source: thetidenewsonline.com

Maritime trials and tribulations

Written by Africa Defense Forum

The guilty verdict handed down in a Sao Tome and Principe courtroom echoed across the globe.

A Chilean captain and two Spanish crew members of the notorious fishing vessel the Thunder were sentenced to two to three years in prison and fined a total of $15 million.

For the tiny Gulf of Guinea island that relies heavily on the sea economy, it felt like a rare win in a losing battle against illegal fishing.

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Source: defenceweb.co.za

Navy seeks more effective collaboration between agencies to tackle crime in Rivers

By Desmond Ejibas

Bonny – The Nigerian Navy has called for more effective collaboration between security agencies and the people to tackle crime in Rivers.

The navy decried the upsurge in criminality across various communities and on waterways, express optimisms that it would be successful, if the residents were fully involved. Capt. Kolawole Oguntuga, the Commanding Officer, Forward Operating Base, Bonny, made the call on Thursday at the inauguration of a free medical outreach on Thursday in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers.

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Source: sundiatapost.com

‘Insecurity On Nigerian Waters Worsen’

By YUSUF BABALOLA

The federal government has lamented that insecurity on the nation’s maritime domain has deteriorated assuring that it is determined to stamp out all forms of insecurity such as piracy, sea robbery, kidnapping for ransom and oil theft, among others within the nation’s maritime domain.

The government said by January 2020, insecurity and maritime crime would be a thing of the past as it would begin a phased implementation of its new maritime security architecture.

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Source: leadership.ng