Defence Chief Lauds Nigerian Navy On Locally Produced Maritime Chart

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin, has commended the Nigerian Navy (NN) for its second locally produced chart of some parts of Nigerian waters by the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Office (NNHO)

General Olonisakin said it is heartwarming that recent products of the NNHO, harbour and operational charts, have been certified and recognized by international institutions.

Congratulating the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), officers and ratings of the NNHO on their feat, Olonisakin expressed happiness that the achievement is coming at a time when recent global events have underscored the need to utilize indigenous resources to address existing and emerging challenges.

A statement by the Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Defence Headquarters, Major General John Enenche noted that the NN recorded a significant operational milestone with the production of the second indigenous navigational chart of some parts of Nigerian waters by the NNHO

He said the new chart covers parts of Badagry Creek, from Ogunkobo, through Navy Town and Mile 2 to Tin-Can Island in Lagos waters, adding that “Work on the chart started in 2019.”

The statement said with the chart fully completed, the NNHO has now commenced work on its electronic version which will be forwarded to the International Centre for Electronic Navigational Charts (ICFNC) for validation and release.

In the last one year, the NNHO has produced a number of nautical products which are currently used by Nigerian Navy ships and establishments. These include; harbour chart of Nigerian Navy Ship BEECROFT and Nigerian Naval Dockyard Limited water fronts, port guide of Lagos harbour and operations charts of the entire Eastern Naval Command.

Others are maneuvering sheets for tactical navigation and a number of training charts among others.

General Enenche said the International Hydrographic Community, particularly the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO), has acknowledged the strides made by the NN in chart production.

He said; “Consequently, the UKHO has accepted gradual hand over of the survey data covering Nigerian waters which are held in their archive and also to adopt NNHO’s charts rather than producing new ones”, adding; “This is a confirmation that NNHO’s nautical products meet international (IHO) standards.

“The NNHO wishes to maintain this standard to facilitate safety of navigation within Nigerian waters and seamless takeover of the charting functions of Nigerian waters from UKHO.”

The statement explained that; “In line with the coordination role of the NN in Hydrography, the NNHO is also currently developing a harmonized Standard Operating Procedures to guide all hydrographic survey activities conducted in Nigerian waters by private survey companies and sister government agencies.

“This would ensure that data received from any of these survey companies/government agencies are accurate enough to be included in a chart.”