Maritime Security and Safety
NASS Endorses Tantita Security Contract, Dismisses Petitions Over Pipeline Surveillance
NASS Endorses Tantita Security Contract, Dismisses Petitions Over Pipeline Surveillance
By Okeoghene Onoriobe
Nigeria’s National Assembly has thrown its weight behind the continued engagement of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited for pipeline surveillance operations, with lawmakers at a joint Senate and House of Representatives roundtable passing a unanimous vote of confidence in the company.
The joint session, convened by the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Petroleum Resources, equally dismissed all petitions filed against Tantita’s pipeline surveillance contract following a motion moved by the Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream), Hon. Henry Okojie.
Okojie argued that Tantita, in collaboration with relevant security agencies, had recorded considerable achievements in safeguarding the nation’s petroleum assets, translating into improved oil revenues for the country.
The endorsement followed extensive deliberations at the one-day parliamentary roundtable on the state of pipeline security and Nigeria’s battle against crude oil theft, where legislators reviewed submissions from wide-ranging stakeholders across the oil and gas sector. Data presented at the session pointed to increased crude oil output and a marked reduction in pipeline vandalism since Tantita’s engagement commenced.
Declaring the event open, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Abbas Tajudeen, noted that despite simmering tensions in the Middle East and the lingering Russia-Ukraine conflict, crude oil remains the world’s largest source of primary energy — particularly in the transport sector, where it still powers 95 per cent of all vehicles, planes and ships.
The Speaker disclosed that the security gains from enhanced pipeline surveillance have helped push Nigeria’s crude oil production to approximately 1.8 million barrels per day, a significant recovery from previous lows triggered by rampant oil theft. He recalled that at the height of the crisis, production collapsed sharply, costing the country billions of dollars in lost revenue and damaging Nigeria’s reputation as a dependable oil producer.
“Nigeria previously lost between 10 and 30 per cent of its crude oil output to theft annually,” Tajudeen said, adding that illegal tapping points had since been largely dismantled while crude deliveries to export terminals had improved markedly.
Beyond production gains, the Speaker highlighted the contract’s social dividend, noting that the surveillance arrangement had generated employment for thousands of Niger Delta youths, many of whom were formerly involved in agitation, offering them alternative livelihoods while strengthening community participation in the protection of oil infrastructure.
He cited legislative backing for the arrangement, including the Petroleum Production and Distribution (Anti-Sabotage) Act and reforms under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), as having reinforced enforcement against vandalism and deepened sector governance. He also pointed to the role of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) and the Host Community Development Trust under the PIA, which mandates corporate responsibility and gives host communities a financial stake in protecting oil assets.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Ikenga Ugochinyere, said the panel subjected every petition and complaint to thorough scrutiny but found no credible basis to sustain any of the claims.
“There is no credible evidence to sustain any of the allegations. Accordingly, all complaints against Tantita are hereby dismissed,” Ugochinyere declared.
His Senate counterpart, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Agom Jarigbe, urged policy consistency, warning that disrupting a framework already delivering results would be counterproductive.
“Disrupting a system that is already delivering results would be counterproductive. Our responsibility is to ensure stability,” Jarigbe said.
Odianosen Okojie also cautioned against moves to fragment the surveillance contract, warning that such a step could weaken operational coordination and erode accountability. “We must strengthen what works, not dilute it. Nigeria’s economic security depends on disciplined execution,” he said.
Senior government officials at the session, including Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, and the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, also acknowledged the improvements recorded under the current arrangement.
Ojulari told the meeting that national crude oil production had grown from a historic low of 960,000 barrels per day in 2022 to an average of 1.71 million barrels per day, reaching a peak of 1.84 million barrels per day in 2025 — a turnaround he attributed to an integrated energy security model deployed across the Niger Delta pipeline network.
He described the success as far from accidental, crediting an approach that combined “legislative and executive policy alignment, actionable intelligence, kinetic deployment capabilities, regulatory oversight, industry cooperation, and community-embedded surveillance mechanisms.”
Waterways News | www.waterwaysnews.ng
Maritime Security and Safety
IMO Council Mourns Slain Seafarers, Demands Stronger Protection as Maritime Conflicts Deepen
IMO Council Mourns Slain Seafarers, Demands Stronger Protection as Maritime Conflicts Deepen
Dominguez warns merchant ships remain exposed from Hormuz to the Black Sea as 138th Council session ends in London
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
Member states at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) used the opening of the Council’s 138th session to mourn seafarers killed in recent attacks and to demand firmer protection for civilian mariners.
Council met in London from 2 to 6 November, with Russia and Iran putting security in the Black Sea and the Strait of Hormuz at the centre of discussions. On 2 November, Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said commercial shipping remained exposed to attack in the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
The mourning was driven by a run of deaths this year. Five seafarers reportedly died on 29 September during the rescue of the hijacked HONOUR 25 in Somali waters, and several others were seriously injured. In all, 44 seafarers were freed from three vessels. Dominguez noted that 22 seafarers remain captive aboard the ASANA, which was seized earlier this year, and urged continued effort to secure their release.
The Strait of Hormuz remains the deadliest flashpoint. The IMO had verified at least 70 attacks on international shipping there, with 19 seafarers killed, by its late-August assessment. A tally reported by gCaptain put the seafarer death toll at 24 as of 5 November.
Dominguez has repeatedly insisted that seafarers are civilians doing their jobs. He has said they should never become casualties of conflicts to which they are not a party.
Member states echoed the call. Liberia renewed its appeal for seafarer protection and freedom of navigation, and Indonesia said seafarer protection and safety of navigation must be a shared priority.
The session also dealt with leadership. Council backed a second four-year term for Dominguez, subject to approval by the IMO Assembly in 2027. The term would run from 1 January 2028 to 31 December 2031.
Nigeria Watch
Nigeria has more at stake than a distant diplomatic debate. Hormuz disruption has fed through to freight rates, war-risk insurance and port costs for Nigerian importers and shippers. Piracy off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden is a reminder that the Gulf of Guinea’s own security gains, including the Deep Blue Project, cannot be taken for granted.
The Council session also bears on Nigeria’s IMO seat. Abuja has pushed seafarer welfare and maritime security as part of its diplomacy, and the Council’s message gives that agenda more weight. The test is whether Nigeria backs its advocacy abroad with welfare protections, training and safety enforcement for its own mariners and for the informal waterway operators represented by WABOTAN and ATBOWATON.
For those operators, the lesson from London is that protection is a shared responsibility, and it has to reach the people who work on the inland water, not just those on ocean-going ships.
Nigeria Unveils Home-Built ADX-Barra 200 Autonomous Vessel at AFRIDEX 2026
Arridex, DICON joint venture Helagon delivers country’s first indigenously developed unmanned surface vessels%
By Ighoyota Onaibre | Waterways News
Nigeria has unveiled its first indigenously developed autonomous surface vessel, the ADX-Barra 200. Arridex Group, formerly RusselSmith Group, built it through Helagon, its defence joint venture with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON).
The vessel was unveiled on 26 October at the inaugural Africa International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX 2026) at Eko Atlantic, Lagos. The exhibition ran from 26 to 29 October.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was represented by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. He said the administration prioritises defence industry growth because a nation is more secure when it can build and maintain its own capability. He described the vessel as that capability taking shape, designed and built by local engineers in partnership with DICON, and said it deserves government support and the confidence of the armed forces.
ADX-Barra 200
Arridex Group CEO Kayode Adeleke presented the vessel. He said Helagon was set up to design autonomous systems and that the ADX-Barra 200 is the result. For the forces that will use it, he called it a force multiplier.
The ADX-Barra 200 is one of two platforms in the ADX-Barra series launched at the exhibition. The other is the ADX-Barra 100. Arridex says both were designed, built and integrated in Nigeria by its engineers.
Adeleke tied the platforms to Gulf of Guinea security. He said the region’s waters carry its trade, support its coastal communities and hold much of its energy wealth, and that protecting them calls for capability the region can build, sustain and improve itself. He invited the armed services and other stakeholders to arrange demonstrations and to help shape later generations of the vessels.
Others at the unveiling included Lagos State Deputy Governor Dr Obafemi Hamzat and the Minister of State for Defence, Dr Bello Matawalle. DICON Director-General Major General Babatunde Ibrahim Alaya, Helagon Chief Operating Officer Engr. Precious Omo-Agege and Arridex senior management were also present.
Arridex has not published the vessel’s technical specifications, including its length, endurance, payload and sensors. Both vessels remained on display at the exhibition.
NIGERIA WATCH
A home-built answer to a long-standing maritime problem: Nigeria’s waters have long needed more patrol capacity than its platforms and budgets can supply. A locally designed vessel that “can be supported, adapted and improved by the team that made it,” as Arridex puts it, addresses one persistent weakness. Imported hulls and systems often sit idle for want of spares, support and trained hands.
The questions that matter next: Unveilings are not deployments. The Navy, NIMASA’s Deep Blue Project and other agencies will want to know the vessel’s range, endurance, sensors and sea-state limits. They will also want to know whether it can work in the Gulf of Guinea. Until Arridex publishes specifications and arranges trials, the “game-changing” claim remains the company’s own.
Beyond defence: Waterways News readers should watch whether this technology filters into civil uses such as inland waterway surveillance, anti-vandalism patrols and search and rescue. The country’s inland operators, including those represented by WABOTAN and ATBOWATON, face insecurity and safety gaps that policy announcements have not closed. Local manufacturing capacity matters to them only if it eventually reaches the waterways where they work.
The accountability test: The industrial-policy argument is sound. It is build locally and maintain locally. It will be judged by procurement, deployment and sustained operation, not by launch-day speeches.
Editor's Choice
Australia Bars Repeat-Offender Bulk Carrier for 90 Days Over Falsified Crew Rest Records
Australia Bars Repeat-Offender Bulk Carrier for 90 Days Over Falsified Crew Rest Records
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
Australian maritime authorities have banned the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Wooyang Venus from its ports and waters for 90 days. Inspectors found that the ship’s crew work and rest-hour records had been deliberately falsified to hide excessive working hours.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) boarded the vessel at the Port of Newcastle on 29 October after a complaint under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). Its port state control inspection found that the records did not match the hours the crew actually worked. The ship left Newcastle on 31 October for Korea, and the ban took effect afterwards.
This is the vessel’s third brush with Australian enforcement in under three years. AMSA detained it in August 2026 when crew hours were neither properly recorded nor monitored. It was first detained in December 2023, after a complaint from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).
That inspection found falsified hours records, poor food provisions and an allegation that the master had assaulted a crew member. AMSA’s annual MLC report says the operator then submitted a corrective action plan covering repatriation, better provisions and training on rest-hour compliance. The latest findings suggest those measures did not take hold.
AMSA Executive Director for Maritime Safety and Environmental Compliance, Greg Witherall, said falsifying records meant to protect seafarers undermines both crew welfare and ship safety. He warned that fatigue dulls judgement and slows reaction times, raising the risk of collisions, groundings and injuries, particularly during navigation and watchkeeping.
The ban was imposed under Section 246 of Australia’s Navigation Act 2012. AMSA cited the deliberate falsification, the repeated breaches and doubts over the effectiveness of the owner’s and operator’s safety management systems.
Nigeria Watch
The case matters for Nigeria for three reasons:
Records are the enforcement tool. Fatigue rules only work if rest-hour logs can be trusted. Australia treated falsification as a safety-system failure, not a paperwork lapse, and banned the ship rather than detaining it again.
Repeat offenders need escalating penalties. Two detentions and a corrective plan did not change this operator’s behaviour. Nigerian port state control should ask whether its own follow-up on repeat deficiencies has real consequences.
Seafarer welfare is a Nigerian issue. Nigerian seafarers serve on foreign-flagged ships, and those working boats and ferries on domestic waters face fatigue and welfare gaps too, often with no records at all.
The MLC regime Australia is enforcing shows what accountability looks like. It is the benchmark NIMASA and the inland regulators should be measured against, and one this publication will keep pressing.
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