Maritime Security and Safety
Global Maritime Safety Watch: Tanker Collision, Gulf Attacks and Container Losses Dominate Weekly Incident Log
Global Maritime Safety Watch: Tanker Collision, Gulf Attacks and Container Losses Dominate Weekly Incident Log
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News Correspondent
A string of serious maritime safety incidents across global shipping lanes last week — including a deadly tanker-fishing vessel collision off India, coordinated projectile strikes on commercial ships near the UAE, and fresh Iranian attacks on fuel tankers in Iraqi waters — underscores the compounding navigational and geopolitical hazards confronting the international shipping community.
Tanker Strikes Fishing Trawler Off Kerala; Two Fishermen Feared Dead
Two fishermen are feared dead after the Panamanian-flagged chemical tanker Solis collided with the locally registered fishing trawler St. Joseph in the Arabian Sea on 8 March.
The collision occurred approximately 120 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala, India, where the fishing vessel had been anchored. The Solis struck the trawler around noon, causing severe damage that sent the smaller vessel to the seabed within minutes.
Nine survivors were rescued by the Solis crew, while the Indian Coast Guard vessel ICGS Anagh responded promptly to the scene, recovering the survivors and transporting them to Vizhinjam Port. A search for the two missing fishermen remained ongoing at the time of reporting.
India’s Directorate General of Shipping has since opened a formal investigation into the incident. The Solis, built in 2003, measures 145.5 metres in length with a gross tonnage of 11,573.
Two Commercial Vessels Hit by Projectiles Near UAE Waters
Two commercial ships sustained damage from suspected projectile strikes off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on 11 March, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has confirmed.
The Japanese-flagged container ship One Majesty was struck approximately 25 nautical miles northwest of Ras Al Khaimah at around 01:58 UTC. The vessel’s captain reported an impact from a “suspected but unknown projectile,” though all crew members were confirmed safe. The ship subsequently sailed towards safe anchorage with minor damage.
In a separate incident occurring minutes later, the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Star Gwyneth was hit by an unknown projectile about 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai, sustaining hull damage. No injuries or pollution were reported.
UKMTO has urged vessels transiting the area to maintain heightened vigilance and promptly report any suspicious activity as investigations continue.
OOCL Sunflower Loses 57 Containers in North Pacific Storm
The containership OOCL Sunflower lost approximately 57 containers overboard while navigating south of the Aleutian Island Chain in the North Pacific Ocean on 3 March, in conditions described as extreme.
The vessel, which had departed Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on 23 February, encountered violent seas that caused containers to go overboard while others on deck shifted or sustained damage. Rough conditions prevented the crew from carrying out a full damage assessment at sea. A comprehensive inspection was scheduled upon the ship’s arrival at Long Beach, United States, on 12 March.
Built in 2025 and sailing under the Hong Kong flag, the OOCL Sunflower measures nearly 367 metres in length and carries a capacity of 16,828 TEU.
Bulk Carrier Grounded in Çanakkale Strait, Later Refloated
The Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier Nota App ran aground in Turkey’s Çanakkale Strait on 11 March after suffering engine failure during a turning manoeuvre. The vessel, carrying a grain cargo from Russia to Egypt, was successfully refloated by Turkish rescue teams without casualties or pollution.
Three tugboats — Kurtarma 21, Kurtarma 4, and Kurtarma 15 — along with the rescue boat KEGM-8 were deployed by Turkey’s General Directorate of Coastal Safety. Divers also conducted an underwater inspection before the vessel was escorted to Karanlık Liman Anchorage for further examination.
Iranian Forces Attack Two Fuel Tankers in Iraqi Waters
Two fuel tankers were set ablaze after reportedly being struck by Iranian explosive-laden boats in Iraqi territorial waters in the early hours of 12 March, amid the continuing regional conflict involving Iran, the United States, and Israel.
The vessels attacked were the Safesea Vishnu, registered in the Marshall Islands, and the Zefyros, registered in Malta. Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Company confirmed the identities of both ships. The Zefyros was reported to have been loaded with condensate from the Basra Gas Company when it came under attack in the ship-to-ship transfer zone within Iraqi waters.
Twenty-five crew members from both vessels were rescued, while search operations for remaining crew continued. The body of one crew member was recovered from the water.
In response to the attacks, Iraqi oil ports were shut down, though cargo ports remained operational.
Drone Strike Sets Fuel Tanks Ablaze at Port of Salalah
Fuel storage tanks at Oman’s Port of Salalah were set on fire on 11 March following a drone attack attributed to Iranian forces. Several terminals were temporarily closed, though merchant vessels remained docked at the port. Omani authorities reported no casualties among port workers or residents and indicated that countermeasures were being deployed.
The Salalah strike marks a significant escalation, extending the theatre of conflict beyond direct Iran-Israel-US exchanges to threatening Gulf energy storage infrastructure and critical maritime trade corridors.
Nigeria Watch: What These Incidents Mean for Nigerian Shipping Stakeholders
The concentrated cluster of incidents across the Gulf of Oman, Iraqi territorial waters, and the UAE coastline carries direct implications for Nigeria’s maritime sector.
For Nigerian shipowners and vessel operators, the attacks on the Safesea Vishnu and Zefyros — both in what should have been a controlled ship-to-ship transfer zone — are a sobering reminder that even regulated loading operations in contested waters can become targets. War risk premiums for Gulf transits are almost certain to rise in the weeks ahead, with knock-on effects for freight rates on Middle East-origin refined products arriving at Nigerian ports.
Crude oil and petroleum product traders supplying the Dangote Refinery and other downstream operators should note that the shutdown of Iraqi oil ports, even temporarily, tightens regional supply dynamics and can feed into international crude price volatility. Nigeria, as a net importer of refined petroleum despite its upstream endowment, remains acutely exposed to such fluctuations.
The drone strike on Port of Salalah is equally significant: Salalah is a key transshipment hub on the Asia-Europe-West Africa corridor. Any sustained disruption there would extend voyage durations and increase the cost of cargo flows to West African ports, including Apapa and Tin Can Island.
For NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy, the proliferation of drone-and-projectile maritime attacks across the Gulf underlines the urgency of developing comparable detection and deterrence capabilities in Nigeria’s own offshore zone. The Gulf of Guinea remains a different threat environment, but the evolution of asymmetric maritime warfare is a lesson that no maritime administration can afford to ignore.
Waterways News Maritime Safety Desk
Editor's Choice
Nigerian Navy, UAE Forge Stronger Security Pact to Defend Gulf of Guinea Trade Routes
Nigerian Navy, UAE Forge Stronger Security Pact to Defend Gulf of Guinea Trade Routes
By Ighoyota Onaibre Waterways News Correspondent Lagos, May 20, 2026
The Nigerian Navy has taken a significant step to reinforce maritime security across the Gulf of Guinea, deepening its strategic alliance with the United Arab Emirates in a wide-ranging engagement centred on joint operations, naval technology transfer, and the fight against crude oil theft and piracy.
Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, held high-level talks with UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Saylem Saeed Alshamsi, with discussions covering expanded cooperation in maritime surveillance, indigenous shipbuilding, fleet modernisation, and coordinated action against sea robbery and hydrocarbon theft threatening Nigeria’s offshore waters.
Operation DELTA SENTINEL Draws UAE Praise
The UAE envoy used the occasion to commend the Nigerian Navy’s recent operational record, citing in particular the achievements of Operation DELTA SENTINEL, under which substantial volumes of stolen crude oil and refined petroleum products have been intercepted and seized.
The ambassador described the Navy’s sustained performance in securing regional waters and protecting critical maritime infrastructure as commendable, a diplomatic acknowledgement that carries weight at a time when Nigeria’s piracy-free streak in the Gulf of Guinea has begun to translate into measurable reductions in shipping insurance premiums for vessels trading Nigerian ports.
NNS KADA: Symbol of a Deepening Defence Partnership
Vice Admiral Abbas drew attention to the construction of the Nigerian naval vessel NNS KADA at the Sharjah shipyard in the UAE as a tangible expression of the growing defence and industrial relationship between both nations. He noted that the collaboration, if deepened, would accelerate the development of indigenous shipbuilding capacity, improve the operational readiness of the Nigerian fleet, and extend the reach of naval patrols across the broader Gulf of Guinea maritime zone.
The naval vessel’s construction in the UAE underscores the direction Nigeria is taking in seeking Gulf state partnerships to bridge capability gaps in its maritime security architecture — a strategic pivot with implications for how Nigeria polices its Exclusive Economic Zone and protects crude oil export infrastructure.
Nigeria Watch: What this means for port stakeholders, shipowners and freight operators
For cargo owners, shipowners and freight forwarders trading through Nigerian ports — from Apapa and Tin Can Island to the eastern terminals at Onne and Calabar — the Nigeria-UAE naval partnership signals continued commitment to securing the sea lanes on which their supply chains depend.
The Gulf of Guinea has historically been among the world’s most volatile maritime zones, with armed robbery at anchor, product tanker hijackings and crude oil bunkering costing Nigeria billions of dollars annually in lost revenues and elevated risk premiums. The Navy’s engagement with the UAE — a country with significant shipbuilding industrial base and Gulf maritime experience — points to a longer-term effort to rebuild fleet capacity and upgrade surveillance technology.
Crucially, any reduction in security incidents directly feeds into war risk and piracy insurance assessments applied to vessels calling Nigerian ports. NIMASA has already flagged the link between the Navy’s piracy-free run and falling insurance costs for Nigerian-bound vessels. Sustaining and extending that record — with UAE technical and operational support — remains central to the case for Nigeria as a competitive, lower-risk port destination in West Africa. Terminal operators and port investors tracking the security environment should regard this bilateral engagement as a positive medium-term signal.
Declining War Risk Surcharge Validates Nigeria’s Maritime Security Gains, Says NIMASA
Agency intensifies global campaign to end $400m annual drain on Nigerian trade as Deep Blue Project sustains piracy-free record
By Emetena Ikuku | Waterways News Correspondent, Lagos
The gradual reduction in war risk surcharges being applied to vessels calling at Nigerian ports is a direct reflection of the country’s dramatically improved maritime security environment, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said, even as the agency steps up international pressure to achieve the complete abolition of the levies.
NIMASA Director-General Dr. Dayo Mobereola, whose administration has placed the war risk insurance (WRI) campaign at the centre of its maritime reform agenda, made the point while stressing that Nigeria has not recorded a single piracy incident in over three years, and in 2021, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) officially removed Nigeria from its list of piracy-prone countries.
Despite this milestone, the financial burden on Nigerian trade remains severe. Available figures indicate that Nigeria has paid over $1.5 billion in the past three years alone to Lloyd’s of London, Protection and Indemnity (P&I) insurance, and other foreign insurance firm. At the vessel level, the impact is equally stark: a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) valued at $130 million attracts a WRI surcharge of about $445,000 per voyage, while newer container vessels valued at $150 million face costs of up to $525,000 per voyage.
Deep Blue Record Goes Unacknowledged
NIMASA attributes Nigeria’s clean security record to sustained investment in the Integrated Maritime Security Architecture. The Deep Blue Project has successfully eliminated piracy in the country’s waters for over 30 consecutive months — a record unmatched anywhere in the world.
The IMO has taken note: IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has publicly commended Nigeria’s efforts in securing the Gulf of Guinea. In 2023, the International Bargaining Forum (IBF) further validated Nigeria’s progress by delisting the country from the list of high-risk maritime nations. Yet, the agency says, shipowners and underwriters have been slow to translate these verified gains into meaningful premium reductions.
Dr. Mobereola has been direct in his characterisation of the problem. He argued that war risk premiums are not being determined by actual risk levels but by a cartel profiting from the status quo, and that even a decade of zero incidents would not result in reductions unless Nigeria forces the issue.
Surcharges Compound Cost of Trade
The WRI levy is not the only additional cost weighing on Nigerian-bound cargo. Maersk has introduced a transit disruption surcharge of up to $450 per container, while other shipping lines impose a war risk surcharge of $40 to $50 per 20-foot equivalent unit. The compounding effect of these charges falls hardest on importers, freight forwarders, and ultimately consumers. NIMASA estimates that full abolition of the WRI on Nigerian routes could save the country upwards of $400 million annually in unnecessary insurance payments to foreign underwriters.
Diplomatic Offensive Widens
NIMASA has escalated the campaign across multiple international forums. Under the directives of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, Dr. Mobereola took Nigeria’s case to international stakeholders, urging them to support the removal of war risk insurance premiums. In a major diplomatic move, he engaged Chatham House, where he met with Dr. Alex Vines, Director of the Africa Programme, who agreed to escalate the matter to the United Nations. The agency has also engaged directly with the world’s leading shipowner and cargo associations — BIMCO, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), INTERCARGO, and INTERTANKO — pressing each body to formally recognise Nigeria’s changed security profile and advocate for premium reductions with their underwriting partners.
The responses have been cautiously encouraging. Stinne Taiger Ivo, Deputy Secretary General of BIMCO, acknowledged Nigeria’s progress and stated that shipowners should take the lead in pushing for lower premiums. Zhou Xianyong of INTERCARGO similarly assured NIMASA of support in Nigeria’s campaign to be delisted from war risk insurance premium zones.
Structural Obstacles Remain
Stakeholders caution that diplomatic goodwill alone will not resolve the issue. Security analysts have pointed to procedural anomalies that distort Nigeria’s risk rating in global underwriters’ assessments. Stakeholders argue that routing incident reports through Abidjan instead of the Nigerian Navy delays responses and unfairly worsens Nigeria’s security rating, and that misalignment between Best Management Practices West Africa protocols and Nigeria’s own security procedures distorts the country’s image.
The Head of Research at Sea Empowerment and Research Centre, Eugene Nweke, has lamented that despite reported improvements, high international war risk assessments continue to burden port users. Former NIMASA Director-General Temisan Omatseye has also urged that inter-agency coordination be strengthened, arguing that the Nigerian Navy alone cannot carry the entire security burden and that the Marine Police, Customs, and Immigration must each fulfil their statutory maritime responsibilities.
Nigeria Watch — Analysis for Port Sector Stakeholders
The modest reduction in war risk surcharges now being observed is a positive signal, but the battle for full abolition remains unfinished. For terminal operators, freight forwarders, and shipowners operating on Nigerian routes, the persistence of WRI adds a systemic cost layer that erodes competitiveness relative to other West African hubs. Every container bearing a $40–$50 war risk levy, stacked on top of Maersk’s $450 transit disruption charge, translates directly into elevated landed costs for goods passing through Apapa, Tin Can Island, and Onne.
NIMASA’s strategy — combining diplomatic pressure through Chatham House and the UN, direct engagement with BIMCO and INTERTANKO, and the moral authority of a verified four-year piracy-free record — is structurally sound. The weak link remains the procedural architecture around incident reporting and the continuing misalignment between BMP West Africa and Nigerian Navy protocols, which feed underwriters’ models with data that overstates residual risk. Until those reporting pipelines are fixed, Lloyd’s and the P&I clubs will retain a technical basis for maintaining elevated premiums regardless of the political pressure NIMASA brings to bear.
The broader implication for the port sector is this: a successful outcome would not merely reduce freight costs. It would materially improve Nigeria’s competitiveness as a transshipment and cargo destination, strengthen the economics of the proposed national shipping line, and reduce the dollar outflow from an already pressured foreign exchange environment.
NIMASA’s DG is right that Nigeria cannot win this fight alone — but the agency is assembling the coalition it needs.
Editor's Choice
NIMASA, National Hydrographic Agency Unite to Drive Adoption of Local Nautical Charts to Enhance Maritime Safety and Security
NIMASA, National Hydrographic Agency Unite to Drive Adoption of Local Nautical Charts
Ighoyota Onaibre | Waterways News Correspondent
Nigeria’s two foremost maritime safety institutions have signalled a reinvigorated partnership aimed at compelling wider industry compliance with locally produced nautical charts and hydrographic communication tools — a push that stakeholders say is long overdue given the persistent navigational hazards across the country’s coastal and inland waters.
The renewed commitment came to the fore during a high-level working visit by the Hydrographer of the Nation, Rear Admiral Olumide Fadahunsi, to the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), where both agencies mapped out a framework for deeper collaboration on navigation, maritime security and operational efficiency.
Fadahunsi Makes the Case for Local Charts
Rear Admiral Fadahunsi used the occasion to underscore the strategic importance of hydrographic services to national development, commending NIMASA’s leadership for its sustained focus on maritime safety while reaffirming his agency’s commitment to delivering critical hydrographic support to the sector.
He argued that broader compliance with locally generated hydrographic data would produce measurable improvements in navigational safety, maritime security and the governance of Nigeria’s territorial waters — outcomes that have eluded the sector in part because foreign charts remain the default for many vessel operators.
“Hydrography remains a critical component of maritime safety and national development,” Fadahunsi stated. “Strengthening collaboration between the National Hydrographic Agency and NIMASA will enhance navigational safety, improve maritime security, and support sustainable growth within Nigeria’s maritime domain.”
NIMASA Commits to Enforcement and Capacity Push
NIMASA Director-General, Dr Dayo Mobereola, responded by pledging accelerated action on Maritime Safety Information infrastructure, alongside tougher enforcement strategies and sustained capacity building to advance hydrographic services across the country.
Mobereola framed inter-agency collaboration as foundational to the sector’s operational credibility, stressing that no single institution could deliver safer and more efficient waterways in isolation.
“At NIMASA, we recognise that effective collaboration among maritime institutions is essential to achieving safer and more efficient waterways,” he said. “We remain committed to supporting initiatives that strengthen maritime safety, improve operational standards, and enhance the overall growth of Nigeria’s maritime sector”
The partnership is expected to reinforce NIMASA’s statutory mandate of ensuring safe navigation and shipping through the consistent deployment and enforcement of accurate, current navigational charts — instruments that remain fundamental to efficient maritime operations.
Nigeria Watch
The NIMASA-Hydrographic Agency engagement arrives at a moment of heightened focus on navigational safety in Nigerian waters, where the combination of inadequate charting, poor channel maintenance and the continued dominance of outdated foreign charts has been linked to groundings, near-misses and elevated insurance costs for vessel operators.
For terminal operators and port logistics stakeholders, the practical implication of wider chart compliance goes beyond safety: accurate, up-to-date hydrographic data directly informs berth availability assessments, dredging schedules and the management of vessel drafts — particularly at the Lagos port complex where channel depth remains a perennial constraint on the size of vessels that can be accommodated.
The National Hydrographic Agency, established to position Nigeria as a self-sufficient producer of nautical charts in line with International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) standards, has long struggled to displace foreign-sourced data products entrenched among shipowners and masters. Whether the renewed NIMASA collaboration produces enforceable compliance mechanisms — rather than another round of goodwill declarations — will determine whether this engagement delivers tangible results for safety and commerce on Nigerian waters.
-
Oil and Gas2 months agoTantita’s Pipeline Deal: $144m Contract, Rising Output, and the Questions that Deserve Answers
-
Blue Economy3 months agoNigeria’s Coast Guard Bill: A Solution in Search of a Problem?
-
MARITIME TRADE & SHIPPING2 months agoWorld’s Largest Container Ship Sets New Maritime Record with 22,233 TEUs on Single Voyage