Nigerian Navy raises alarm over upsurge in stowaways

The Nigerian Navy has expressed worries over the spate of stowaways in the country’s waters.

“The Nigerian Navy is concerned by the upsurge in cases of stowaways in Nigerian waters,” it said in a statement.

“For clarity, the Convention on Facilities 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 Nigerian Navy deployed advanced Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) equipment to vector Quick Response Team (QRT) to all parts of Nigeria’s territorial waters.”

The Nigerian Navy disclosed that 75 stowaways have been apprehended from August 2023 to April 2024.

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It said during the operations, the QRT carefully extracted the stowaways who had concealed themselves inside the rudder compartment of the vessels.

According to the Navy, the dangers include severe legal consequences and significant health risks such as negative effects of harsh weather condition, lack of food and water, injuries and even death.

On August 2023, four Nigerian stowaways survived 14 days stuck in a cramped area above a cargo vessel’s rudder, that landed in Brazil.

Also in December 2023, nine Nigerians who attempted to stowaway to Europe through The Gambia were arrested.