A tanker vessel “MT Sea Eunice” which was arrested on August 11, 2022 by the Nigerian Navy for constantly turning off its Automatic Identification System (AIS), has been handed over to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
The vessel is presently located along Escravos River, close to the Aroton community and its actions have been described as a violation of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations.
According to the report disseminate by NIMASA yesterday, the Base Operation Officer of the Nigerian Navy Ship, Delta (NNS, DELTA) Commander Samuel Musa earlier noted that the vessel was constantly switching off her AIS, which is a violation of the IMO regulation that NIMASA implements in Nigeria.
Responding to this development, the NIMASA DG, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, OFR lauded the Nigerian Navy for always being proactive in its operations and noted that NIMASA is committed to inter-agency collaboration with the Nigerian Navy.
“Let me use this opportunity to state that NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy are partners in progress, because without synergy we cannot realise our mandates. We will continue to work closely with the Nigerian Navy to strengthen the existing ties to ensure we keep our maritime environment safe and secured”, the NIMASA Director General stated.
Engr. Joshua Oyadiran, the District Surveyor, Central Zone, NIMASA, who received the vessel on behalf of the Agency, further assured that investigations would be carried out in line with the mandate of the Agency.
It would be recalled that turning of the AIS of vessels allows ships’ location to be unknown, a practice commonly utilized by pirates and other vessels transacting illegal businesses on the seas and oceans.