From right: Executive Director, Finance and Administration, NIMASA, Chudi Offodile presents a certificate to one of the graduates of the Deep Blue Project’s Special Mission Vessel SMV training.

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA Dr Bashir Jamoh, has reiterated that assets deployed under the country’s Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, also called the Deep Blue Project, are manned by competent officers from the Nigeria’s security services.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had recently launched the assets under the project, some of which have been deployed since February this year to combat piracy on land, air and sea within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone EEZ.

Dr. Bashir Jamoh, stated this in Lagos during   the graduation ceremony of officers trained to man the Special Mission Vessels, the main maritime component of the project.

Represented by the agency’s Executive Director, Operations, Mr. Shehu Ahmed, Jamoh said the graduation of 30 officers trained in various parts of the world marked a significant addition to the team of competent personnel manning assets under the maritime security scheme.

“This event is remarkable. It guarantees us competent manpower required to man the Special Mission Vessels. It is a further indication of our commitment to bequeathing a crime- free maritime domain to Nigerians and the global maritime community.

“Early this year and in line with a Presidential directive, we deployed the Special Mission Vessels and the Fast Interceptor Boats to the Lagos Port Secure Anchorage Area. But the event of today takes us further to the full deployment of the two Special Mission Vessels with fully trained and certified crew”, the DG said.

It was also gathered that the crew of the Special Mission Vessels have concluded localised training and terrain familiarisation courses after their initial technical based training abroad.

Also speaking about the training, Coordinator of the Deep Blue Project, and Director, Planning, Research and Data Management Services Department PRDMSD, NIMASA, Mr. Anthony Ogadi, said the crew had nine foreign and 10 local trainings on various platforms of the Deep Blue Project under the supervision of the project contractor, HLSI.

Ogadi stated that some local trainings for the operation of other assets under the maritime security scheme, including the Special Mission Aircraft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and armoured personnel carriers were simultaneously on-going at Ikeja and Ojo in Lagos, and Elele in Rivers State.

Captains of DB Lagos, and DB Abuja, Captain Uche Aneke and Captain Mohammed while speaking on behalf of the crew, thanked NIMASA for facilitating the training. They assured the agency that they would carry out their duties with a high sense of proficiency and professionalism.

A highpoint of the event was the presentation of certificates to the officers which had in attendance NIMASA’s Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Hon. Chudi Ofodile, and Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Bar. Victor Ochei.

The Deep Blue Project is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Federal Ministry of Defence, which is being implemented by NIMASA, with personnel drawn from the Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police, Department of State Services, and other security agencies.