Lokpobiri tasks West Africa coastal countries on piracy on waters

As Pirates Hack Vessel, Abduct 3 Korean Crew In Ghana, Nigerian Waters 
The Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who doubles as the President of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) has advised member countries to ensure that all vessels plying the coastal waters of the region install Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) for proper tracking of vessels by the maritime security agents.
 
This, he said will curb the incessant piracy in the sub region.In a statement signed by his Media Aide, George Oji, Lokpobiri also advised that all vessels in the sub region must also be made to install Automatic Identification System (AIS) and the Transponder device for easy and proper communication. 
 
Lokpobiri stated that: “The fact that pirates went to Ghana, hijacked a vessel and it could not be recovered calls for more collective collaboration on how we can strengthen our synergy and to enable us achieve the objectives of the FCWC.”
 
According to Lokpobiri: if the vessel in question had all the necessary devices in place, it would have been easy for the Nigerian navy to track it and avert the abduction. 
 
Lokpobiri regretted that the whole lot of illegal activities going on, where people just come to the waters and after fishing they tranship to another ship and there is no record of what they have taken from the artisanal waters is one major challenge that is needed to take on in Nigeria and the member states of the sub region.