Navy raises alarm as 75 stowaways recorded in Lagos waters in 8 months
THE Nigerian Navy (NN) has raised the alarm over the upsurge in cases of stowaways in the Lagos waters.
Adams Aliu, a commodore and director of information, Nigerian Navy, in a statement seen by Businessday, described the practice as a security threat to shipowners, saying that 75 cases had been recorded within eight months.
“For clarity, the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL Convention) defines a stowaway as someone who is secreted on a ship, or in cargo without the consent of the shipowners or the master or any other responsible person,” Aliu said.
He explained that “Migration as a stowaway is illegal, dangerous, and is considered a security threat to shipowners.
In line with the strategic directive of the chief of the Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogalla, a vice admiral, the NN deployed advanced Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) equipment to vector Quick Response Teams (QRT) to all parts of Nigeria’s territorial waters. Consequently, the NN apprehended about 75 stowaways from August 2023 to April 2024.”
Listing the dates, vessels involved, number of cases, and locations, Aliu said: “In August 2023, there were five cases through Lagos channel in MMSC Martha; eight cases in September 2023 through Lagos Fairway Buoy, in Charminar Panama; 11 cases in October 2023, through Lagos channel in Gwangzhou Highway Panama; In November, there were eight cases through Lagos Fairway Buoy, in Natal; four cases in December through Lagos channel in Container Vessel Teme; there were another two cases in December through Lagos Fairway Buoy in Grande Guinea, the same December, there were also 14 cases through Lagos Channel in MT UOG Constantine, and three other cases through Lagos Channel in Front Altiers.
“In February 2024, there were four cases of Stowaway in MT Chip through Lagos Channel; in March 2024, three cases were recorded through Lagos Channel in MT Advance Love; the same March, additional nine cases were recorded in Lagos Fairway Buoy through MT Lysias Valletta, and in April this year, four cases were recorded in Lagos Channel.”