CNS Flags Off Construction Of Nigeria’s Latest Warship
The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas has on Wednesday December 11, flagged off the construction of Nigeria’s latest Landing Ship Tank (LST) 100 in Albwary DAMEN Shipyards, Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, stating that the acquisition of the ship will go a long way in filling operational gap in the Nigerian Navy (NN).
While performing the symbolic tradition of the keel-laying ceremony for the NN LST, the CNS stated that the ship will be engaged in the protection of maritime assets and the preservation of law and order at sea, thus contributing significantly to promotion of global maritime commerce and maritime power projection in Nigerian Maritime environment and the Gulf of Guinea at large.
Vice Admiral Ibas underscored that the ceremony was a significant step towards actualizing the dream of restoring NN’s sealift capability, after the Service decommissioned 2 similar LSTs – NNS AMBE and NNS OFIOM more than 10 years ago, recalling that these vessels served the Navy meritoriously in the 1980s-90s, playing significant roles during the ECOMOG intervention Operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as other peace support operations in Lebanon.
The CNS noted that the selection of DAMEN Shipyards to execute the project was based on its track record of high quality ship building capacity, engineering as well as a belief in the company’s ability to adhere to the timeline for delivery of the ship. He therefore urge the Company complete the construction of the LST with all the attention and due diligence that it deserves.
Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas therefore thanked the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, for his untiring support for the rejuvenation of the NN fleet since assumption of office. He then informed that construction of the ship is expected to be completed in May 2020 and when completed and delivered, the LST will play crucial roles in the security of Nigeria’s maritime environment and beyond.
(DINFO)
