2016/07
NIGERIA PORTS INFORMATION- PIRACY AT LAGOS/PORT HARCOURT
The waterways/sea is being monitored by the Nigeria Naval Police and other enforcement Agents.
The Naval Police patrol along the coast on 24hrs.
However, it is essential to warn that pirates are very active in the region. We dealt with pirates
attack last year. They used to hijack the tankers, switch navigation equipment basically AIS andother communication system. Then, they transship the cargo into other tanker before releasing thevessel few days later.
It is important that in the Gulf of Guinea, the crew remains particularly vigilant. In case ofcongestion in the port, the vessel should stay out of reach of pirates tug. In no event, Members
should accept STS operation, except if application is made to the local authorities and the area
secured.
One issue your insured might anticipate is that of congestion at the port which could entail thevessel having to wait on the roads (or at Bonny inner anchorage if calling at Port Harcourt / Onne)for some time. This will usually depend on the type of cargo being carried; container vessels andtankers do not have so many problems in this regard as they usually have preference / priority overgeneral cargo / bulk vessels.
Should there be such a waiting time, the Master is advised to stay as far away as possible from theFWB in order that the possibility of any pirates boarding the vessel is greatly minimised. There
have been incidents of piracy attacks off Lagos / Bonny (Bight of Benin), but these have mainly
occurred on tankers with low freeboard and small off-shore support craft. However, the vessel
should take all appropriate means to prevent unauthorised boarding either at sea, at the anchorage orwhilst alongside. (Use of razor wire, increased look-outs, pressurized fire main/hoses, restricted /secure access to accommodation, cargo spaces and deck stores, increased deck patrols etc. etc.). The
anchorage areas and coastal waters are supposedly patrolled by the Nigerian Navy. No authorized
persons should be allowed on board during the waiting time.
Alternatively it is possible for vessels to anchor at the SAA (Safe Anchorage Area) to West of Lagos
where ships may anchor in a specified area that is guarded / patrolled by vessels from a private
security company (OMS) working in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy. Details are available on
www.saawestafrica.com
Once alongside access to the vessel should be controlled 24/24 in order to prevent any unauthorised
entry and /or attempted robbery. Any crew venturing ashore should be vigilant against personal
attack / robbery.
If taking bunkers in the area the Master/Agents need be very careful and insist on using only very
official channels. There is some oil (usually bunker grade) theft in the area at the moment and eventhough not related, taking bunkers illegally could carry serious consequences. Any STS operations(bunkers or cargo) should be announced / declared to the official authorities so that they can beproperly monitored. Several vessels have been attacked during undeclared STS operations being
carried out far off-shore away from any supervision or surveillance.

With regards to piracy there have been some attacks in the Bight of Benin and Gulf of Guinea (evenas far south as off Angola). These attacks are usually highly coordinated and have generally been onsmall tankers with a low freeboard that are carrying MGO and / or IFO or on off-shore vessels. Insuch cases it is the highly valuable cargo that is targeted with the vessel being released some days
later once some or all of the cargo has been discharged to another waiting vessel / barge (forsubsequent sale on the black market). The pirates can be extremely violent and such criminal
activity is almost exclusively carried out by Nigerian based organisations, doubtlessly with thecollusion and support from well-organised business and political connections most probably
situated in Nigeria.
H. Romain Soglo
ELTVEDT & O'SULLIVANAs Agents to the Managers of TCI AFRICA
Tel: +33 491 140 460 | D/Line: +33 491 140 463 | Mobile: +33 613 380 965 | Skype: r.soglo | Fax: +33.4.91.56.12.81
Website : www.eltvedtosullivan.com
Duty Officer Emergency No: +33 6 25 73 08 08