From Kayemo News
The Nigerian Navy (NN) said on Wednesday that it has arrested a total of 75 stowaways who attempted to travel out of the country through criminal and unconventional ways of hiding under the rudder of cargo ships sailing out of the nation’s waters.
While decrying the menace, the Navy warned of the dangers of attempting to travel as a stowaway which 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.
Director of Naval Information, Commodore A Adams-Aliu made this known on Wednesday in Abuja, noting that the force is concerned by the upsurge in cases of stowaways in Nigerian waters.
He said, “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.
“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 a table seen by Vanguard.
August 2023, Vessel, MSC MARTHA, 5 Stowaways apprehended in Lagos Channel, September 2023, Vessel Charminar Panama, 8 stowaways arrested at Lagos Fairway Buoy, October 2023, Vessel, Gwangzhou Highway Panama, 11 stowaways arrested at Lagos Channel, November 2023, Vessel, NATAL, 8 stowaways arrested at Lagos Fairway Buoy
In December 2023, Container Vessel Teme, 4 stowaways arrested at Lagos Channel, December 2023, Vessel, Grande Guinea, 2 stowaways arrested at Lagos Fairway Buoy, December 2023 {Vanguard}
