Headlines
Again ,Danish frigate engages pirates in Gulf of Guinea.
For the second time in less than a month, the Danish frigate Esbern Snare has been involved in yet another operation in the Gulf of Guinea.
Yesterday the Danish navy assisted a container ship believed to be under pirate attacks.
Although the identity of the containership was not disclosed in either report, other reporting points to the ship as being the Liberian-registered M/V Tonsberg.
AIS ship tracking data from MarineTraffic.com showed the Tonsberg as being underway from Cameroon to Cotonou, Benin, but apparently drifting.
One person was wounded and needed medical attention, while the pirates took six crew members hostage.
Six crew members have been taken hostage following an incident that occurred Monday when Danish frigate Esbern Snare was dispatched as part of an anti-piracy operation in the Gulf of Guinea.
In a press release issued Monday evening, the Defence Command of Denmark said that Esbern Snare came to the aid of a container ship following a pirate attack.
The Danish frigate received intel suggesting that a pirate group was active in international waters near the island of Bioko off the coast of Equatorial Guinea.
While Esbern Snare set out in the direction of the possible pirate group, attempts were made to contact civilian ships in the same area.
The attempts were unsuccessful, however, according to the report.
After a three-hour pursuit, the Seahawk helicopter aboard the frigate was sent ahead to observe. Upon approach, it received a Mayday signal from a container ship.
The signal means “ship in distress.”
The helicopter crew spotted a smaller vessel – a skiff – near the side of the container ship. The crew also noticed a number of suspected pirates and hostages board the skiff.
Allegedly, those on board the skiff jettisoned various objects, presumably in order to move faster.
With the hostages taken on board, they sailed north towards the Niger Delta.
To avoid endangering the hostages, the helicopter pursued the vessel at a safe distance for some time, after which it returned to Esbern Snare.
The frigate is not authorized to pursue pirates in national waters.
In the meantime, the frigate had received a message that several crew members were onboard the container ship and that a crew member was wounded, having been shot in the leg.
There were no reports of any pirates still on board the container ship.
For this reason, a boarding team was dispatched to the container ship to provide first aid.
The wounded individual subsequently received medical attention aboard Esbern Snare and is reported to be stable.
Later Monday evening, the boarding team was still present on the container ship, providing support and aiding in the search for the two missing crew members.
It was later confirmed that six crew members have been taken hostage by the pirates.
The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in October that the number of piracy and armed robbery incidents in the Gulf of Guinea region fell to 28 incidents through the first nine months of this year, compared to 46 for the same period in 2020.
Most notably, there were only four incidents reported off Nigeria through September, compared to 17 in 2020 and 41 in 2018.
Dryad noted that this latest attack occurred about 32 nautical miles northwest from where an offshore supply ship was attacked in October. Three people were kidnapped in that incident.
In November, the Danish Frigate killed four suspected pirates in the Gulf of Guinea while it captured four others alive while the ninth fell overboard.
Customs
Apapa Customs leads intelligence – based operation to intercept 1.8tonnes of Cannabis Sativa, N12.8b worth of expired pharmaceuticals products
Headlines
Nigerian ports gain global recognition as World Bank ranks Apapa, Tin Can among world’s most improved ports.
Gloria Odion, Maritime reporter
Nigeria’s ongoing port modernisation and infrastructure upgrade programme has earned international recognition, with two of the country’s busiest seaports—Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports—listed among the world’s top 20 most improved ports by the World Bank.
The recognition came in the World Bank’s 2025 Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), released in June 2026, which highlighted both Lagos ports in its global ranking of ports that recorded the most significant improvements in operational efficiency.
The CPPI provides a consistent, data-driven assessment of port performance worldwide by measuring the time vessels spend in port.
The index enables stakeholders to compare port efficiency across different countries and over time, while identifying areas of progress and operational challenges.
The latest ranking is a major endorsement of the Federal Government’s efforts to modernise Nigeria’s port infrastructure and enhance trade facilitation through reforms spearheaded by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
According to the Authority, the achievement further reinforces its contribution to sustaining Nigeria’s trade surplus by providing efficient port services that support growing import and export activities.
Nigeria has recorded consecutive annual trade surpluses since 2024, with the most recent figure standing at N7.54 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Reacting to the development, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Abubakar Dantsoho, attributed the achievement to the Federal Government’s investor-friendly policies and the ongoing port modernisation drive.
“With the investor-friendliness of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu providing the gravitas needed for increased investment to implement our port infrastructure and equipment modernisation drive, coupled with the unflinching support of the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, we have all it takes to advance the fortunes of trade and boost the national economy,” Dantsoho stated.
The World Bank recognition is expected to further strengthen investor confidence in Nigeria’s maritime sector and support ongoing efforts to position the country’s ports as competitive gateways for regional and international trade.
Customs
Customs Zone ‘C’ Intercepts Smuggled Vegetable Oil Worth N403.5 Million
Funso OLOJO, Editor
The Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone ‘C’, Owerri, of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has recorded a major anti-smuggling success with the interception of a large consignment of smuggled foreign vegetable oil valued at over N403.5 million.
The seizure followed strategic intelligence gathering and coordinated operations by officers of the Unit, leading to the interception of two trailers conveying the prohibited products.
Items seized include:
3,310 jerry cans (25-litre kegs) of Super Delicious vegetable oil;
10 jerry cans (10-litre kegs) of Super Delicious vegetable oil;
20 cartons of 5-litre sunflower vegetable oil; and
20 cartons of 3-litre sunflower vegetable oil.
According to the Unit, operatives intercepted one of the trucks carrying the consignment at about 10:00 p.m. on May 9, 2026, along the Ninth Mile axis of Enugu State, while the second truck was intercepted on June 7, 2026, along the Onitsha–Agbor Highway, following credible intelligence.
The Command disclosed that the seized goods have a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N403,491,000.
Speaking on the seizure, the Controller of FOU Zone ‘C’, Bashir Balogun, described the operation as a significant blow to economic saboteurs whose activities undermine local industries and the nation’s economy.
He noted that the illegal importation of foreign vegetable oil negatively affects domestic production, technology transfer, job creation, and foreign exchange earnings.
Balogun emphasized that the operation demonstrates the Service’s unwavering commitment to enforcing the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2022 and the Federal Government’s fiscal and protective policies prohibiting the importation of foreign vegetable oil.
He warned individuals and syndicates involved in smuggling to desist from such activities, stressing that the Nigeria Customs Service would continue to deploy intelligence-driven enforcement strategies to safeguard public health, national security, and the domestic economy.
The seized vegetable oil remains in the custody of the Service while investigations into the smuggling network continue.
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