Navy Boosts Capacity As French Shipyard OCEA Delivers C-Falcon Interceptor

Nigerian Navy has witnessed a huge boost in its capacity with the delivery of the first among three C-Falcon interceptors from French OCEA.

The development comes amidst need for tightened security with the lingering security concerns in the country’s  waterways.

OCEA had announced in October that it won three tenders for two additional OCEA FPB 110, one OCEA OSV 190 SC-WB and four OCEA C-FALCON interceptors.

The company said the C- Falcon, a fast Interceptor Craft is designed to accomplish naval intervention, escort and deterrence in the field of security missions, including interception of vessels, personnel and troops/special forces transportation, infiltration/exfiltration.

The company said the C- Falcon delivered was accelerated by  the supply of numerous vessels to Africa’s most populous nation over the last eight years.

OCEA had supplied the Navy vessels including  FPB 98 Mk I patrol vessel, eight FPB 72 Mk II and two FPB 110 Mk II patrol vessels, according to defenceWeb.

The French company said, “Thanks to the continuous integrated logistic support Ocea has implemented for the Nigerian Navy, the fleet is daily on operation to the full satisfaction of the customer.”

Over the years, pirate activities have been on the rise, while the Navy has vowed to tackle the menace which is economically impacting the country’s waterways.

Based on OCEA’s description of the new vessel, the C- Falcon has a top speed of 40 knots, while range is 320 nautical miles at 40 knots and has the capacity of four crew and 16 passengers.

The company noted that the C- Falcon fitted with a remotely operated machinegun turret would boost the Navy’s operations.

The company had on September 24 launched the Lana for the Navy, a 60 metre OSV 190 hydrographic survey vessel which was used as a replacement for the Nigerian Navy survey vessel NNS Lana.

The Lana is expected to join the Navy fleet by next year, OCEA said.