Nigeria to Boost Port Security as U.S. Imposes Restrictions

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria is improving the security of its waterways and harbors, the nation’s ports authority said, as the U.S. reportedly imposed restrictions on the West African country.

The U.S. Coast Guard will apply conditions of entry to ships that recently visited some of Nigeria’s port terminals, Ships & Ports reported, citing the U.S. organization. The entry restrictions will begin April 12 and aim to protect the U.S. from vessels arriving from countries found to have insufficient anti-terrorism measures in place, the news website said.

Nigeria introduced new security controls to address challenges, Nigerian Ports Authority Managing Director Hadiza Bala Usman said Tuesday in an interview in the commercial capital, Lagos. The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency is working to ensure there is “full compliance across the board” on security issues raised about Nigerian waterways, she said.

Insecurity on Nigeria’s rivers and along its coast has driven up the cost of shipping and left some ports unable to compete with neighboring countries.

The west coast of Africa has suffered more piracy than any other region this year, according to data compiled by the International Maritime Bureau. While Ivory Coast and Ghana have recorded incidents off their shores, Nigerian statistics are higher, with one ship having been boarded, one attempted attack and six vessels having been fired upon from Port Harcourt, the country’s oil hub, this year.

“Pirates are often well armed, violent and have attacked, hijacked and robbed vessels, kidnapped crews along the coast, rivers, anchorages, ports and surrounding waters,” the International Maritime Bureau said in its 2018 piracy report. Nigeria recorded a total of 48 attempted and actual piracy attacks last year, the highest since 2014.

The U.S. also imposed sanctions on countries including Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar and Seychelles, according to Ships & Ports.

Source: Bloomberg Business News