Vincent Toritseju
Lagos — NIGERIAN fishing trawlers and local fishermen and women are currently under attack by foreign fishing trawlers for daring to come into the nation’s deep waters to fish.
Disclosing this at the just concluded annual lecture of the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria, MARAN, held in Lagos, former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Mr. Temisan Omatseye said that Nigerian fishermen are being attacked by foreigners operating in Nigeria’s water and does not want Nigerians to fish in the same waters with them.
Omatseye called for increased security for fishermen and women on nation’s territorial waters adding that security agencies of government needs to deploy technology to enhance security intelligence.
The former NIMASA boss urged the government to set up a Response Zone Transit Corridor, RZTC, whereby response would come within thirty minutes of any perceived attack.
He was of the opinion that the nation’s coastline was too long for any form of physical adding that with the deployment of technology, government can gather intelligence on such attacks.
“You cannot patrol the entire coastline of Nigeria; it is humanly impossible to do that. You need intelligence via technology.
“All vessels coming into Nigeria could come into a corridor that could create for the safety of all vessels and Nigeria could also be in a position to provide patrol 24 hours a day and seven days a week so that when you are attacked, within 30 minutes, I could respond.
“With this kind of arrangement, the Nigerian authorities can who and what vessels are in the Nigerian maritime environment. Most of the vessels that come into Nigeria need to be brought under a radar. That way we know these vessels, what they are coming to do and the cargo they are coming to lift in Nigeria.”
“Another way you can solve this problem of insecurity is for Nigeria also needs to change its trade terms from Free on Board, FOB of selling your crude oil to Cost Insurance and Freight, CIF. If the terms of trade are changed, if this is done, we will know the crude the is carrying and we know the port destination,” Omatseye said.
There are also unconfirmed reports of local fishermen and women that came under attack by some foreign vessels suspected to be of Chinese origin around the Akassa area of Bayelsa State.
It was gathered that the appropriate authorities have been petitioned over the development.
