The Navy said French shipbuilding company OCEA SA, successfully delivered the cutting-edge OSV 115 vessel to it in Apapa Lagos on April 17, 2024.
The OSV 115, designed and manufactured by OCEA SA, is a 35-meter vessel built for scientific hydrographic and oceanographic missions. Equipped with progressive technology, including medium/shallow water multi-beam echo-sounders and other essential survey equipment, the vessel is primed to conduct in-depth surveys in shallow and medium waters.
A statement signed by the Director of Information, Nigerian Navy, Commodore A. Adams-Aliu, made available to Financialtrust.com.ng, said this latest addition to the NN fleet will operate in tandem with the OSV 190 “NNS LANA, also built and delivered by OCEA in 2021.
It said the primary role of the new vessel is to conduct hydrographic and oceanographic surveys, supporting the ongoing NN efforts to safeguard Nigerian territorial waters and optimize the current administration’s Blue Economy initiatives.
“It should be recalled that the NN commenced local production of internationally recognized nautical charts in 2019 and the newly acquired OSV will further improve NN hydrographic charting proficiency,” the statement said, adding that the delivery of the OSV 115 vessel comes with comprehensive support services, including training, spare parts, tooling, and necessary documentation, ensuring seamless integration and operation within the Nigerian Navy’s fleet. “The Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) remains grateful to the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his unwavering support to the NN in her fleet renewal aspirations,” the statement read.