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Secured Anchorage Area: Senate joint c’ttee absolves OMS of fraud

December 18, 2019928 views0 comments

  • Says Navy in deficit of 150 patrol boats

Secured Anchorage Area: Senate joint c'ttee absolves OMS of fraud

By Samson Echenim 

 

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The Senate Joint Comittee on Finance, Navy and Marine Transport has absolved maritime security firm, Ocean Marine Solutions (OMS) Limited of any fraud and recommended that the company continue its contractual partnership with the Nigerian Navy on provision of maritime security at the Secured Anchorage Area (SAA) for international ships coming to seaports in Lagos.

The committee presented its report on Wednesday at the plenary and gave recommendations which were reached after intensive consultations, analysis of presentations and submissions.

The committee found that “the Nigerian Navy are currently in deficit of about 150 patrol boats that would help it in checkmating the insecurity in the Nigerian sea and ports; and that two out of the three patrol boats given to the

Nigerian Navy by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) through NIMASA in 2014 to enhance security presence in the ports are dysfunctional.”
It therefore recommended that “the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Ports Authority and NIMASA, should be commended for initiating and  implementing a process that led to the provision of enhanced and advanced maritime security at the SAA in the Lagos waters in 2013 that has led in

checkmating the high rate of attacks on vessels waiting to berth at the Lagos ports.”

The committee said OMS should be

commended for its genuine national interests in investing over $400 million into the SAA in particular  and the Nigerian waterways in general by providing the needed platforms and logistics for the Nigerian Navy to

effectively perform 24/7/365 patrol operations as well as to provide the required protection for vessels waiting to berth at the Lagos ports.

The committee said, “Since no fraud is found in the operations of the OMSL

and is operating at no cost to government, OMSL should be allowed to continue its operation at the SAA until such a time when a better and more cost effective system is put in place.

“That the Nigerian Navy should be properly funded to enable it procure needed vessels to clear the over one hundred and 150 vessels deficit to enable them carry out their constitutional responsibilities without over depending on Private Maritime Logistics Support Companies (PMLSC),” the committee concluded.

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