The Nigerian Navy Decries The Growing Menace Of Stowaways In Lagos Waters

The Nigerian Navy Decries The Growing Menace Of Stowaways In Lagos Waters

The Nigerian Navy (NN) is concerned by the upsurge in cases of stowaways in Nigerian waters. For clarity, the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL Convention) defines a stowaway as someone who is secreted on a ship, or in cargo without the consent of the shipowners or the master or any other responsible person. Migration as a stowaway is illegal, dangerous and is considered a security threat to shipowners.

In line with the strategic directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, the NN deployed advanced Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) equipment to vector Quick Response Teams (QRT) to all parts of Nigeria’s territorial waters. Consequently, the NN apprehended about 75 stowaways from August 2023 to April 2024.

Specifically, the details of stowaways extracted by the NN between August 2023 and April 2024 are shown in the below:

1.August 2023
MSC MARTHA-5
Lagos Channel.

2. September 2023
   CHARMINAR PANAMA-8
   Lagos Fairway Buoy.
3. October 2023
   GWANGZHOU HIGHWAY PANAMA-11
   Lagos Channel.
4. November 2023
   NATAL-8
   Lagos Fairway Buoy.
5. December 2023
   CONTAINER VESSEL TEME-4
   Lagos Channel.
6. December 2023
   GRANDE GUINEA-2
   Lagos Fairway Buoy.
7. December 2023
   MT UOG CONSTANTINE-14
   Lagos Channel.
8. January 2024
   FRONT ALTIERS-3
   Lagos Fairway Buoy.
9. February 2024
   MT CHIP-4
   Lagos Channel.
10. March 2024
    MT ADVANTAGE LOVE-3
    Lagos Channel.
11. March 2024
    MT LYSIAS VALLETTA-9
    Lagos Fairway Buoy.
12. April 2024
    MT PRINCESS ERIN-4
    Lagos Channel.

Total August 2023–April 2024
=75.

During the operations, the QRT carefully extracted the stowaways who had concealed themselves inside the rudder compartment of the vessels. All apprehended stowaways were handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in accordance with the established protocols for further necessary action.

The NN wishes to enlighten the general public on the dangers of attempting to travel as a stowaway. These include severe legal consequences and significant health risks such as negative effects of harsh weather conditions, lack of food and water, injuries and even death. Hence, the NN uses this opportunity to discourage Nigerian youths from embarking on such misadventures.