In commemoration of its 69th Anniversary celebration, the Nigerian Navy is set to inaugurate three military patrol Vessels and three Helicopters.
The disclosure was made today by the Navy Chief of Policy and Plans, Rear Admiral Ibrahim Abdullahi Dewu, at a briefing to Kickstart the Navy week events.
According to Rear Admiral Dewu, in terms of fleet renewal, the Nigerian Navy has taken delivery of more platforms in support of all maritime security operations.
He said notable amongst these are three new patrol vessels and three newly acquired helicopters, which will be commissioned during Navy week.
“The new patrol vessels are NNS SHERE, NNS FARO, and NNS IKOGOSI. All three vessels are about 38 meters long with an endurance of five days. Two of the vessels were acquired from Singapore and one from South Korea, and they all arrived in Nigeria in December 2024,” Dewu said.
“These vessels will serve as Seaward Defence boats within Nigeria’s littorals up to the 24 nautical mile contiguous zone and, when necessary, go beyond in hot pursuit as necessary. Essentially, they will improve our presence at sea.
“Additionally, three more Agusta Westland 109 Trekker helicopters will be commissioned, bringing the total number of helicopters in the Nigerian Navy inventory to 14, thus improving our air operations exponentially.
“As you are aware, the maritime domain is common to all because maritime boundaries cannot be accurately defined like land boundaries.
“Hence, the Nigerian Navy has staged and participated in several local and international exercises with Gulf of Guinea States and foreign partners to achieve synergy in maritime security. Most important is the recently concluded EXERCISE OBANGAME EXPRESS 2025, which was conducted from 10 to 16 May 2025.
“This exercise brought together navies of Gulf of Guinea states and foreign partners, including the USA, Brazil, Italy, and Spain. I am happy to say that it was a very successful exercise, which underscored the resolve of Gulf of Guinea nations to present a common front in the fight against maritime crimes.”
