The Nigerian Navy has come under fire for failure to prevent attacks on nearshore oil and gas assets like that which destroyed a moored oil tanker last week.

The director of the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau has criticised the Nigerian Navy for not adequately protecting Lagos and the Niger Delta region. An IMB report said attacks involving guns were up 35 percent in 2007, with 64 crew casualties, as opposed to just 17 in 2006.

“This significant increase is directly attributable to the increase in incidents in Nigeria and Somalia,” IMB Director Captain Pottengal Mukundan said in his report.

He added that pirates in Nigeria and Somalia attacked vessels further out at sea and were better armed and organized “amid a lack of proper law enforcement”.

In Nigeria, 25 attacks took place in Lagos and in the Niger Delta region out of 42 incidents for the whole country. The number is up strikingly over the 12 attacks in 2006.

Onshore, Shell has officially complained that the inhabitants of villages along the route of a key coastal pipeline have hindred the asset’s repair. Other oil companeis have become more vocal over the worsening security situation.

The swampy Nigerian coastline is 853 kilometres long with mangroves and lagoons which offer shelter to organized gunmen.

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