The Nigerian Navy yesterday, 5 August, accepted into service 21 gunboats, 14 operational patrol boats, seven house boats and four airboats donated by Aiteo Global Group.
The equipment will be used to tackle maritime crime and criminality in the nation’s territorial waters.
Ten 15-meter boats manufactured in Vietnam by the Hong Ha Shipbuilding Company and James Boat and acquired on behalf of Nigerian company Marine Assets and Offshore Equipment Limited.
Additionally, at least ten NP-650 patrol boats were procured from another Vietnamese Company called JSC James Boat.
Also donated are four high-speed interception inshore patrol boats, long-range surveillance drones and six high definition cameras.
Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, Aiteo Global Group is an oil and gas industry player founded in 1999, the company operated under the name Sigmund Communnecci Limited. The company name was changed to Aiteo during a rebranding exercise.
According to information obtained by Military Africa, Aiteo is a full-spectrum, integrated energy company with services that span bulk petroleum products storage, marketing and distribution of refined petroleum products, oilfield services, electricity generation and distribution, LPG bulk storage and a fast-developing retail distribution network.
Aiteo has one of the largest private storage facilities for refined petroleum products in sub-Saharan Africa. Assets include petroleum storage facilities with capacity of more than 320 million litres. This includes our Port Harcourt terminal with capacity of over 110 million liters and our Apapa terminal with capacity of approximately 210 million liters.
Receiving the items in Port Harcourt, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice AdmiralAwwal Gambo, said the hardwares would be deployed to the creeks to fight oil theft, piracy and sea robbery.
According to him, the donation is the manifestation of months of collaboration with critical maritime stakeholders to support naval operations.
“The delivery of these platforms and assets aligns with the provisions of the Nigerian Navy 2021-2030 strategic plans on inter-agency and sub-regional cooperation.
“This is a milestone in our collaborative engagement with corporate maritime stakeholders to rid the nation’s maritime environment of criminal elements and economic saboteurs.