Nigerian Navy’s new warship NNS KADA embarks on maiden voyage to Lagos

The Nigerian Navy’s newly constructed Landing Ship Tank – LST 100 christened Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) KADA is scheduled to undertake her maiden voyage from Albwardy Damen Shipyard, Sharjah, UAE to Lagos, Nigeria on Friday 1 April 2022 by 9 am Nigerian time.

A statement by the Director of Naval Information, Commodore Ayo Vaughan, said NNS KADA is expected to be underway from 1 April to 27 May 2022, totaling a period of 56 days and covering a distance of 8,414.34 nautical miles.

“It is also planned for the new ship to make stopovers in five countries/ports before arriving in Lagos. These ports are Port Duqm in Oman, Port Mombasa in Kenya, Port Cape Town in South Africa, Port Luanda in Angola, and Port Gentil in Gabon,” he said.

“This milestone venture progressed steadily with the keel-laying ceremony of the ship conducted on 9 December 2019 at the Albwardy Damen Shipyard, Sharjah, UAE. Subsequently, the construction was completed and the new warship was launched on 7 June 2021,” Vaughan said.

The historic maiden voyage of the new warship will be preceded by a customary change of flags ceremony at the Albwardy Damen Shipyard, Sharjah, UAE.

It would be recalled that the Nigerian Navy in May 2018 launched a new Landing Ship Tank (LST) at Damen Shipyard, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

A statement by the Nigerian Navy said “The bid opening process for the procurement of the LST was held on 19 December 2017 and supervised/conducted by a team from the Bureau of Public Procurement as well as a technical committee of the Nigerian Navy.

On 13 June 2019, the Nigerian Navy and Damen Shipyards signed the final general arrangement plan and specifications on the LST 100, and this date of 13 June 2019 became the effective date of contract for the LST 100.

A statement by the Nigerian Navy said, “The introduction of the LST to the Nigerian Navy inventory will bolster the force’s sealift capability. Specifically, it would enhance the transportation of troops, military hardware, vehicles in the conduct of maritime security operations launched from the sea as well as the supply of relief material during periods of national emergency.

“Furthermore, the vessel will serve as a critical component of naval power projection for enhanced maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea and beyond. In its secondary role, the LST will play a critical role in the protection of maritime assets and preservation of law and order at sea, thus contributing significantly to the promotion of global maritime commerce, peace, and safety.

“The new LST has a complement of 32 crew and 250 embarked persons and a length of 100.08m. She is powered by 2 Caterpillar/Cat 3516 C-rating engines and 4 Caterpillar C-18 generators. Furthermore, she has an endurance of 15 days @ 15 knots. If she is to be used for humanitarian missions/evacuation, she can accommodate over 450 persons on its upper and lower decks in short trips.

The new warship is expected to replace the first set of LSTs of the Nigerian Navy, NNS AMBE and NNS OFIOM, which have been decommissioned, naval authorities said.