Accordingly, offshore patrol vessels and coastal-patrol craft with multitask capabilities are the focal point of our fleet regeneration effort, which is aimed at improving the navy’s policing capability. Similarly, domestication of construction capability for those classes of vessels is cost effective and is yielding desirable results.
Of equal concern is the cross-border nature of current maritime-security threats, which has compelled our collaboration/cooperation with the Republic of Benin, leading to a sustained presence in our shared maritime space under a combined patrol arrangement, Operation Prosperity. The resulting reduction in attacks on shipping in our common maritime areas has been encouraging thus far. As one of the few navies in the Gulf of Guinea with force-projection capabilities, our navy is committed to renewed collaborative efforts with Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and other maritime stakeholders. We also remain subscribed to the Africa Partnership Station and its objective of achieving operational synergy and improved capacity of navies in the West African sub-region.
In the immediate future, the Nigerian Navy intends to build on its current transformation efforts and the continued support of government to sustain recapitalization and further development of local construction capacity. Through a strategic partnership we can ensure capacity use of our shipyards to attain the desired end-state of optimal efficiency.
