12metre K38 Combat Catamarans(TP Marine) armed with 12.7mm heavy machine guns
DAILY PUNCH
AUGUST 1, 2012
A suspected oil thief, Mr. Joshua Orupere,40, was on Wednesday arrested by operatives of the Joint Task Force codenamed Operation Pulo Shield for
allegedly attempting to bribe the outfit with $30,300 (N4.65m). He allegedly offered the bribe to secure the release of two vessels which were seized by the JTF for their involvement in oil theft.
The Commanding Officer, 343 Artillery Regiment of JTF, Lt. Col. Muktar Adamu, led the troops that impounded the vessels. But Orupere was apprehended at the headquarters of the JTF, Yenagoa, when he came with the bribe money to the office of the outfit’s Chief of Staff, who reportedly turned down the offer.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the ships, christened MV Premier and MV Somtrans were impounded along the Sagana waterways in Akasa, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The vessels were each laden with about 600,000 metric tons of stolen crude oil when they were intercepted by the JTF after an operation that lasted two days.
It was also gathered that four new K38 army boats were used in the operation. The Media Coordinator,JTF,Lt.Col Onyema Nwachukwu, said the operation was in line with the determination of the outfit to rid the Niger Delta of illegal bunkering and refining of petroleum products. He said the gunboats had assisted the outfit in fighting sea piracy and oil theft in the region.
He said the gunboats were built in (Holland) and equipped with modern facilities to combat pipeline vandalism and waterway-related crimes.
Nwachuckwu said the suspect who had
confessed to the crime attempted to bribe the chief of staff when he was apprehended. He, however, refused to disclose the name of the chief of staff, who rejected the money and arrested the alleged bribe giver.
“Let me use this opportunity to remind the perpetrators of this nefarious act that the JTF is not sleeping. Our men are taking adequate steps to ensure that the Niger Delta, both land and sea, is extensively policed.I urge them to seek legal means of livelihood,” he said.
In an interview with PUNCH Metro,Sopere admitted that he was in charge of the vessels when they were intercepted by the JTF. He, however, alleged that one of the vessels belonged to a retired Air Force Commander.
“I did not know the JTF Chief of Staff before but I met him with the link provided by the retired Air Force Commander. My link advised that I raise
money and offer as bribe and I went to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to raise over $30,000,” he said.
The vessels were later destroyed by the JTF
It is truly amazing when the f.g. buys task specific equipment what happens and the results that follow. I had said earlier on this has not been a good month july -august for the oil traders…..err bukerers in this particular region and sure enough one of the” ogas ” is hurting really bad buisness has been cramped by some loyal nigerians who are “not cooperating “.
Please let us commend our armed forces when they do good things especially during these times when everyone feels entitlled to steal.
I am very proud of the commander who rejected the bribe and arrested the oil thief,he is a true patriot.
The federal govt should encourage loyalty in the armed forces by rewarding the guy who rejected the bribe.
And also the federal govt should ensure to provide adequate equipments for the armed forces,do they expect them to carry out their duties with rickety boats,see the ghanian navy has just inducted sum ocean going vessels into their naval arm,nigeria should try to show themself worthy of the name Giant of africa.
I agree that the FG need to equip the forces optimally. However, I am not interested in the 58metre ships of our sister West African country which you alluded to. There is nothing about a sub-400 ton vessel which makes it oceangoing.
It is possible for even a 32-metre vessel with sufficient endurance to “HUG THE COAST”(that is, not moving out into the open seas) and get almost anywhere. The Nigerian Navy already own six of those types of 58 metre vessels(Combattante III and Lurssen types from France and Germany). They were able to sail all the way to Liberia and Sierra Leone by doing just that -hugging the coast..emphasis on COAST. That does not make them oceangoing.
It is okay to sail close to the coast in those. Try crossing from Senegal to Brazil where both coasts are 2,000 nautical miles apart. Then, the difference between a coastal platform and a true oceangoing vessel would become obvious.
A 58m 400 ton vessel is a minor combatant even by Third World standards. We are not after those, not when our national assets are moving ever more southward into greenwater precincts rather than being dotted along the coast.
What the Nigerian Navy need are ships(OPVs and corvettes…most new, some used) which should be a MINIMUM of 85 metres in length and weigh over 1,500 tons and they must all be versatile with a minimum of a 76mm main gun, two 30mm CIWS plus a number of .50 calibre weapons and a helicopter deck. Now, that is oceangoing. The barest acceptable standard should be 75 metres, 1,250 tons with a 76mm main gun and a flight deck.
We should concentrate on coastal patrol craft in the 24m-38m category only and be sure that they are just that..coastal vessels. These must not cost more than $7.5-15m apiece. That is where the Shaldag FPCs, OCEA 24m and 32m CPCs, Made-in-Nigeria 31m Seaward Defence Boats and the 38m Sea Eagle OPCs belong. Beyond this category, let everything that we grab be truly oceanic vessels as specified above..no less
Let ships be ships and boats/craft be just that. We don’t need to ‘manage’ anything – deploying coastal vessels and pretending that they are oceangoing assets.
Ideally, I should love to see every OPV ADDITIONALLY tipped with two-cell AShMs such as the C802 and two-cell 530mm torpedo tubes so that they are fully multimission vessels…best BANG for the buck. That way, they can engage enemy ships at sea, support shore bombardment, sail with embarked helicopters and be able to operate in deep offshore precincts.
Let us spend money wisely since our governments typically see defence acquisitions as an unwelcome distraction rather than a matter of continuing investment and procurement
Thanks oga beeg for the info,i just want to ask are the nigerian navy’s 58m vessels(combattante and larssen type vessels)still in active service,because i havent heard so much as a peep about them??
Here is what we need and are getting(similar-sized or larger OPVs..some in stealth configurations) – true oceangoing platforms.
Thank you my brother
As a stop gap measure, nigeria should approach south korea and buy their retiring Pohang class corvette.
The koreans had 24 ships 1 was retired, 1 was sunk by a north korean torpedo, 3 are being refurbished for sale to our neighbor, 1 was gifted to the columbian navy, another was gifted to the navy of the philipines.
This leaves 17 ships. Nigeria should grab at least 12 of these, cause if the south koreans are giving the ships away, we could talk them into gifting them to us, or selling them all for less than 40 million usd.
The uscg CGS JARVIS, and at least 2 of the 24 retiring Perry-Hazard class frigates should also be in NN’s sights as other creative stop gap measures, to equip the navy at minimum expense.
Likewise the 2 retired helicopter carriers in the australian navy
preach , preach
I meant to say 3 Pohang class corvettes are being refurbished for our neighbor equatorial guinea.
As mr.beegeagle has mentioned often, they have also acquired 3 isreali built brand new corvettes, 1 ukranian light frigate sized ship, 2 brand new brazilian Formoso class light frigates, all armed with helicopter decks and antiship & anti aircraft missiles.
So, with nigeria’s current capital ships awaiting crapping or repair, and with the chinese OPVs 2 to 3 years out, it is fair to say that equatorial guinea, a nation of 600,000 people would dominate nigeria’s maritime environment, including our 120 billion usd oil assets in our EEZ.
With their personnel fully trained, they can blockade nigeria’s ports and oil exports indefinitely.
The anti air missiles on all of their newly acquired warships,would be more than a match for NAF’s 12 f-7ni’s and between 4 & 11 alpha jets.
So, president GEJ, keep sleep walking, keep acting like it’s not your job to care about these things.
You and the rest of nigeria’s rulers should keep inventing ways to humiliate nigeria.
I dont mean to pur sand inside anyone’s garri but I’m thinking about all the naval acquisitions being mentioned: frigates, helicopter carriers, corvettes and another coast guard cutter; do we remember the navy was almost unable to afford fueling the Thunder? and this is just one ship. If you go round the naval bases in Nigeria you will almost be in tears. The mast of the Ambe has almost been falling off for the past 5 years, nothing has been done about it. There is no plan to repair or fix the ships that litter the naval bases. Supposing we eventually acquire all these fancy stuff, what will be their maintenance plan?
@Deway, I believe that the refurbishing of old NA armor at the special vehicle plant, and the similar naval endeavor to (1) build patrol boats and (2) refurbish some ships using already existing facilities in nigeria portends a bright maintenance future in our armed forces.
However, I don’t know why the naval refurbishment efforts have stalled of late. What is delaying the restoration of our 6 FACs ?
After all, NN’s 3 lurssen FAC(missile) are a more modern lurssen class than the lurssen class that was bought and refurbished by the ghananian navy(from germany).
Also, our 3 or 4 remaining vosper corvettes can also be refurbished and modernized with chinese navtronics and missiles, like the iranians have done.
Nigeria has a cordial relationship with iran, why not approach them for some technical assistance ? I don’t think isreal and the US care enough to make a fuss, and if they do, they can either match the iranian offer of technical assistance, or get lost.
In light of the right task specific relationship we have with Israel ,I WOULD GO FAR AS TO SAY OGA DOZIEX let us approach the Isrealis about technical assistance with regards to refurbrishing of our Vosper corvettes.
Not to keen on IRAN due to the INFAMOUS shipment that was to pass through Nigeria( CAUGHT) on its way to the MIDDLE EAST.
I wouldnt say they should get out expecially the israeli’s,the usa can go to hell for all i care but the isreali’s hav proven themselves to be good allies.