LAGOS – Commander Tom Tredery, the Commanding Officer of the Royal Navy Ship HMS Iron Duke, on Wednesday pledged that his crew would maintain good relationship with the Nigerian Navy.
Tredery said this while speaking with newsmen during his visit to the Western Naval Command Headquarters (WMC) at Apapa, Lagos.
The commander, received by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Rear Adm. Ilesanmi Alade, said he and his team would train with Nigerian Naval personnel in the next few days while in Nigeria.
“We are looking forward to training together over the next few days while we are on port and also to operating and exercising together.
“We are going to arrange the training, that is including navigation, engineering, damage control, fire fighting and also boarding and security operations,” he said.
Tredery also added that the role of the Navy was to work together and to make sure that safety and freedom were in place on the seas regardless of the problems of piracy and other crimes on the sea.
“When there is a crime at the sea, it affects every nation because so much of the world’s trade flows by sea.[eap_ad_1]
“So it is important that the civilian ships and merchant navy are able to operate confidently to make sure world trade moves smoothly,” he said.
Tredery, who also spoke about the HMS Iron Duke, said it was a frigate of over 20 years old, which had been deployed from the United Kingdom for about five weeks.
He also said that the Iron Duke would be away for about six months patrolling in the Atlantic North and the Atlantic South Ocean.
“We have visited about four countries so far and we will probably visit six or eight countries more before we get back to the UK,’’ he said.
Alade, noted that the Nigerian Navy had control over its territorial waters adding that the responsibility of ensuring security of the Nigeria maritime domain was that of the Nigerian Navy.
“Nigeria Navy is poised to take total control of the Nigerian waters to rid it of any form of illegalities.
Alade added that foreigners who had been perpetrating illegalities on the Nigerian waters were being arrested.
He gave the assurance that anyone arrested for illegal oil bunkering would be dealt with appropriately. (NAN)[eap_ad_4]
