Nigerian Navy receives NNS Lana new offshore survey vessel.

According to information published by the Nigerian Ministry of Defense on 15 April, 2021, the Navy took delivery of its first-ever purpose-built Offshore Survey Vessel, NNS LANA in Saint Nazaire, France. Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo stated that the new vessel was conceived as a replacement to the previous NNS LANA, a survey ship that was decommissioned about 10 years ago.
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New offshore survey vessel NNS Lana  (Picture source: Nigerian Navy)

Survey services and charting waterways play a crucial role in ensuring safe navigation as well as delivery of maritime security. Hence, NNS LANA will not only enhance the safety of Nigeria’s maritime environment but the ship will serve as a critical component in the projection of naval power for enhanced maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.

The construction of the Offshore Survey Vessel 190 MKII (NNS LANA) commenced in December 2019 and the project was divided into 4 major milestones which were: the completion of the deck molds, completion of hull blocks, hull assembly on the main deck and the delivery and installation of the main engines at the shipyard.

These milestones were the benchmarks which determined the level of work achieved at each stage of the project. The building process was successfully completed and the Ship was launched on 24 September 2020 at Les Sables d’Olonne, France. The new Ship with a visual call sign A499 was named NNS LANA apparently conceived as a rebirth of the former Nigerian Navy Ship LANA (A498) which was decommissioned.

The new NNS LANA (A499) is designed and purposely built to enable the NN conduct hydrographic and oceanographic surveys. It is also capable of conducting geophysical studies, search and rescue operations as well as patrol duties. The Ship is equipped with state-of-the-art modern survey equipment as well as a well-equipped 7.6m surface vehicle for shallow water surveys.

Furthermore, the Ship has an Automatic Weather Station (AWS), wet and dry laboratories, scientific and technical workshops as well as operating and processing rooms for survey data.

The machineries include 2 x MTU engines, 3 x CAT main generators/one emergency generator, electric propulsion system and other auxiliaries. The electric propulsion which is operated at survey speed is particularly installed to minimize distortion of data due to machinery noise. The Ship has a maximum speed of 14 knots and a capacity of 50 crew.

NNS LANA was handed over to the Nigerian Navy in France on 15 January 2021 after the provisional acceptance trials was concluded. The crew training commenced in January 2021 and ended on 12 April 2021. The change of flag ceremony marks her readiness to embark on her maiden homebound voyage to Nigeria. Expectedly, NNS LANA would join the Nigerian Navy Fleet in May 2021.