Nigerian Navy Imports Two War Ships from China

In order to meet operational needs and effectively police the
waterways, the Nigerian Navy has placed order for two war ships from
the Republic of China, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Dele Joseph
Ezeoba has revealed in Calabar.
He stated this while undertaking the annual inspection of naval
facilities and formations in the Eastern Naval Command. The new
ships, according to him, on delivery, would give the Navy the needed
capacity and edge to effectively combat sea piracy and oil theft which
are all acts of economic sabotage.
One ship would be launched in China in January 2014 and brought down
while the second would be delivered second quarter of the year.
"To effectively combat our vast marine space, helicopters, open
patrol vehicles, speed boats, and adequate manpower are needed; that
is why we are taking delivery of these ships to beef up our defence
and combat capacity", he said.
Ezeoba commended the Eastern Naval Command for combating sea piracy
and oil theft in the Gulf of Guinea to a reasonable level, which he
noted has made the sea route along Calabar, Oron and Gabon relatively
safe and secure.
"We have a mandate from the President of this nation to combat
bunkering and piracy in the sea and the Eastern Naval Command has
combated and reduced the incidences of sea piracy and oil theft to a
very low level and this has made the Calabar Water Channel relatively
safe", he said.
He explained that the multi billion naira Naval Specialist Hospital
in Calabar that was abandoned for over thirty years was nearing
completion and would be commissioned in the first quarter of 2014.
"That facility has been abandoned for over thirty years and what I did
yesterday was to take an on the spot assessment of work and from the
state of work done so far, that project will be commissioned in the
first quarter of 2014", Ezeoba added.
He said from his assessment, the units and bases were stable which
proves that the Nigerian Navy was operationally prepared to undertake
any mission in any part of the world in terms of the efficiency of its
personnel and equipment capacity.
The naval Chief inaugurated several projects in the Eastern Naval
Command in Calabar including living quarters for offices, senior
officers' mess and clinic.