Hauwa Ali
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The Nigerian Navy has arrested a vessel, MT Sea Eunice, for switching off its Automatic Identification System (AIS), to evade tracking, which is against International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulations.
This was disclosed by the base operation officer of the Nigerian Navy ship, Delta, Navy Commander Samuel Musa, on Wednesday, in Delta State.
The arrested ship was also guilty of floating the regulations of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety (NIMASA) and has consequently been handed over to the agency for further investigation and sanctions.
The Naval Commander disclosed that the vessel was arrested by the Nigerian Navy, NNS Delta, while the crew continuously and consistently engaged in switching on and off their Automatic Identification System.
Consequently, after the completion of the preliminary investigations, the Nigerian Navy under the watch of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Subair Gambo directed the Flag Officer Commanding Central Naval Command to hand over the vessel to NIMASA through the Commander, NNS Delta, he said.
Musa noted that the essence of the handover is a testament to the Nigerian Navys position in continuous policing of the Nigerian maritime domain and the synergy and collaboration with other maritime stakeholders.
Also speaking while taking over the arrested ship from the navy, the District Surveyor of NIMASA, Central Zone, Oyadiran Joshua Oyeniyi, who represented the Zonal Coordinator, said the agency will scrutinise the naval report on the seized ship and sanction owners appropriately if infractions were detected.
Having taken over the vessel from the Nigerian Navy, we have to inspect the ship, and look at the report of the Nigerian Navy about the ship. We have to carry out our own inspection, and if we find out any infraction, we will sanction the vessel owners. It is only after then that we can release the ship to the owners, Oyeniyi said.
