The Offshore Survey Vessel 190 MKII is equipped with state-of-the-art survey equipment and a 7.6-meter surface vehicle for shallow water survey.

The ship has an Automatic Weather Station (AWS), wet and dry laboratories, scientific and technical workshops as well as operation and processing rooms for geographical studies, search and rescue operations and patrol duties.

NNS LANA is envisaged to afford the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic Department leverage to successfully and systematically conduct hydrographic surveys and charting of Nigeria’s waters.

The vessel was handed over to the Nigerian Navy in France on January 15, 2021, after provisional acceptance trials with a change of flag ceremony conducted on April 15.

It embarked on its maiden voyage from France to Nigeria with a brief stopover at the Tema Port where Ghana’s Chief of Defence Staff and other high-ranking Ghanaian Navy Officers inspected the ship.

Rear Admiral Emmanuel Olatunji Beckley, a representative of the Chief of Naval Staff of the Nigerian Navy, and Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, who addressed the press after an inspection of the vessel on its maiden voyage.

He said: “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”.

He said the new vessel would play a critical role in the protection of maritime resources and preservation of law and order at sea, thus contributing significantly to the promotion of global maritime commerce.

He said the construction of NNS LANA by Messrs OCEA, a French shipbuilding company, was conceived as a rebirth of a previously decommissioned NNS LANA about ten years ago.

He said the entry of the vessel into the Nigerian Naval fleet was in fulfilment of the dream of enhancing the Navy’s survey capabilities.