Latest Nigerian Navy warship arrives

Ex-US CG ship joins Nigerian Navy.

Latest Nigerian Navy warship arrives home

The former United States Coast Guard cutter USCGS Gallatin, now called NNS Okpabana, has arrived in Nigeria, after being handed over to the Nigerian Navy in May 2014.

The vessel arrived in Nigerian waters on January 2, joining its sister ship NNS Thunder, another Hamilton class cutter donated to Nigeria by the United States. The Nigerian Navy spent $8.5 million refurbishing the 45 year old ship, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

At its reception in Lagos, Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin said that “it was the successes recorded by NNS Thunder in curtailing threats in our maritime domain and the larger Gulf of Guinea region, with the confidence reposed in our country by the USA, that made it possible to acquire NNS Okpabana. The addition of this ship into the NN [Nigerian Navy] fleet will certainly bolster our zeal to end the menace in our maritime domain and the region, as well as support the regional and global effort to eliminate transnational maritime threats. This nation has always requested the navy to do more and with this, the government recognises that there must be needed platform for the navy to do its job well.”

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Source: defenceweb.co.za