Nigerian Navy commissions 118 new vessels and a helicopter

The Nigerian Navy (NN) has commissioned 118 new ships and small craft as well as an AW139 helicopter.

Newly commissioned vessels include the OCEA OSV 190 SC-WB survey ship NNS Lana, which was delivered in April; two OCEA FPB 110 Mk II coastal patrol vessels (CPVs), NNS Sokoto and NNS Aba , which were received earlier this year; one OCEA FPB 72 Mk II fast patrol boat, NNS Osun; two Damen FCS 4008 Patrol CPVs, NNS Ikenne and NNS Kano , which were delivered in June; as well as the new locally designed Seaward Defence Boat III, NNS Oji , which was built by the NN's Naval Dockyard in Lagos.

The commissioning event, which took place at Naval Dockyard on 9 December, was attended by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who also performed the keel-laying ceremony of two more Seaward Defence Boats, SDB IV and SDB V.

The highlight of the event was the near-simultaneous launching and commissioning of Oji. Built by Naval Dockyard in partnership with South Africa's Paramount Group, Oji's keel-laying took place on 17 May 2016 and the ship was completed in early December. The vessel has a length of 43 m, a beam of 7.5 m, a draft of 1.8 m, and a loaded displacement of 214 tonnes. Powered by two Caterpillar C9.3 diesel engines, the vessel has a top speed of 20 kt and a range of 3,500 n miles at a cruising speed of 12 kt.

Armament includes a 20 mm remotely operated main gun and four 12.7 mm heavy machine guns (HMGs) mounted aft.

Ikenne and Kano