{"id":355864,"date":"2026-05-29T03:37:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T02:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=355864"},"modified":"2026-05-28T15:38:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:38:46","slug":"nigeria-acquires-100-warships-boats-in-70-years-navy-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=355864","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria Acquires 100 Warships, Boats In 70 Years \u2013 Navy Chief"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Nigerian Navy says it has acquired more than 100 warships and boats since its establishment 70 years ago.<\/div>\n
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Rear Adm. Ebiobowei Zipele, Flag Officer Commanding, Naval Training Command off\u00a0 (NAVTRAC), disclosed this during an interdenominational church service to mark the Nigerian Navy\u2019s 70th anniversary in Onne, Rivers.<\/div>\n
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Zipele described the anniversary as significant, noting that the navy had demonstrated resilience, dedication and commitment to its constitutional responsibilities since its inception.<\/div>\n
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He said the navy, established in 1956, had grown into an elite fighting force that had effectively protected Nigeria\u2019s territorial waters from both domestic and foreign threats.<\/div>\n
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According to him, the Nigerian navy started in 1956 with 11 ships bequeathed by the (British) Royal Navy, but today we have over 100 ships and boats in our fleet.<\/div>\n
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He added that in spite of the successes recorded over the years, the navy was still acquiring more platforms, including warships, helicopters and drones, to further strengthen maritime security.<\/div>\n
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The naval boss revealed that the navy had successfully curtailed piracy in Nigeria\u2019s waters and the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) for more than three years.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe achievement has restored investor\u2019s confidence and improved commercial activities within the maritime sector”, he said.<\/div>\n
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Zipele noted that the navy had performed creditably with available resources in protecting Nigeria\u2019s territorial waters and maritime interests.<\/div>\n
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He said the establishment of an air arm unit had further strengthened operations aimed at securing the nation and the GoG.<\/div>\n
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According to him, although the navy has recorded notable successes, it can not secure Nigeria\u2019s vast territorial waters alone.<\/div>\n
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He explained that the size of the nation\u2019s maritime domain necessitated collaboration with relevant stakeholders to enhance security operations.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe government adopted a \u2018whole-of-society\u2019 approach because the Nigerian navy cannot be everywhere at the same time”, he said.<\/div>\n
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Zipele listed the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), and Tantita Security Services among agencies supporting maritime security efforts.<\/div>\n
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He commended President Bola Tinubu for supporting the navy with improved operational resources and equipment, and lauded the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Idi Abbas, for boosting morale within the service.<\/div>\n
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The naval boss advised prospective recruits willing to join the navy to understand that military service required sacrifice and patriotism.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThere is no greater sacrifice than laying down our lives for our country”, he said.<\/div>\n
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He added that the Armed Forces remained actively engaged in operations against banditry, terrorism, oil theft and illegal bunkering across the country.<\/div>\n
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Theresa Frederick & Charity Amiso<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nigerian Navy says it has acquired more than 100 warships and boats since its establishment 70 years ago. Rear Adm. Ebiobowei Zipele, Flag Officer Commanding, Naval Training Command off\u00a0 (NAVTRAC), disclosed this during an interdenominational church service to mark the Nigerian Navy\u2019s 70th anniversary in Onne, Rivers. Zipele described the anniversary as significant, noting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67315,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-355864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-city-crime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/67315"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=355864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":355866,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355864\/revisions\/355866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=355864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=355864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=355864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}