Nigeria removed from Unsafe Waters list

Joint Negotiating Group, JNG, listed 5 designated risk areas and applicable benefits in the event of attacks leading to deaths and disability, mentioning the Gulf of Guinea as second extended war risk zone covering Liberia/Ivory Coast border to 00°N 005°E, and to the Angola/Namibia border.

The Director General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, while reacting to the IBF report, described it as a landmark achievement of the Federal Government.

“This achievement is a product of a well-structured multimodal policy which has been implemented over the years to fight piracy and other criminalities in Nigerian Waters. The Legal instrument called SPOMO Act signed into law by President Buhari in 2019, the full implementation of the Deep Blue Project by NIMASA, expanded assets and capacity of the Nigerian Navy, enhanced cooperation between NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy, and the regional collaborative efforts under the umbrella of SHADE Gulf of Guinea midwifed by NIMASA, are all policies of the current administration and the benefits are gradually coming to fruition. We are focused on ultimately improving and reducing the cost of commercial shipping in Nigeria,” he said.

Notable maritime institutions like the International Maritime Bureau, IMB, and the International Maritime Organisation, IMO, have lauded the reduction in piracy in Nigeria following enhanced patrol and relevant Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, entered into by NIMASA with other security agencies.

The 2023 IBF list called for double compensation for seafarers who die or suffer disability due to attacks on vessels in the Gulf of Guinea.