Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla announced that come May 30, 2024, the Navy will be adding two new ships and three helicopters to its fleet. He also mentioned that five operational vessels from China and Turkey are expected by the third quarter. This was revealed during an interdenominational service in Abuja marking the Navy’s 68th anniversary.
“We want to also use this opportunity to commend our efforts, particularly in the area of fleet renewal. On May 30 this year, we are commissioning three more ships and two more helicopters. This is in addition to several other OPVs that are coming from different parts of the world. We have two OPVs that are coming from Turkey, which are billed to come in the third quarter of this year, we have three that are coming from China. ” he revealed
The PUNCH had earlier reported that the wife of the president, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on April 21 launched the second 76-meter High Endurance Offshore Patrol Vessel built by DEARSAN Shipyard in Turkey.
The first patrol vessel was launched in October 2023.
Speaking on efforts to build ships locally, the Naval Chief noted that efforts were ongoing to build and repair ships in the country.
Ogalla said this was crucial to the growth of the service and the nation’s blue economy.
He said, ” Our local shipbuilding effort has become a cardinal point of my vision in the Nigerian Navy. This is because we realize that the only way we can grow as a navy is to make sure that we have local content in all our key areas of development.
“Of course, which, you know, shipbuilding is part of it. And also we recognize that shipbuilding and ship repairs will contribute effectively to the overall blue economy, which is one of the agenda of the president’s administration. ”
He, however, urged the personnel to redouble their efforts to achieve more feats in the coming years.
Ogalla said, ”To this end, I urge every one of us to work hard to redouble our efforts to ensure that we achieve even more in the years ahead. Let us make sure that we have a navy that we will be proud of. “