VESSEL REVIEW | Lana – French-built research and patrol vessel for Nigerian Navy

The Nigerian Navy has taken delivery of a new patrol and research vessel from French shipbuilder OCEA.

Acquired for a cost of NGN3.4 billion (US$9 million), NNS Lana will perform a variety of missions including coastal and deep-sea hydrographic and oceanographic research, navigational charting, geophysical studies, fisheries enforcement, and patrol and surveillance of the waters within Nigeria's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Among its secondary functions are towing, search and rescue (SAR), pollution response, and limited cargo transport.

The all-aluminium newbuild is the second Nigerian Navy ship to bear the name Lana. The first one, which was decommissioned in the early 2000s, was also operated as a survey vessel by the navy's hydrographic office.

The newer Lana has an LOA of 60 metres, a beam of eight metres, a maximum draught of 3.5 metres, and space for 40 crew members and 10 scientific staff. The hull design provides optimised seakeeping ability, having originally been developed by OCEA for use on a series of offshore support vessels (OSVs) but with the modifications necessary to make it more suited for operation in the Gulf of Guinea and Nigeria's other coastal waters. The overall layout also helps generate significantly reduced noise and radiation, thereby minimising the adverse impact on the surrounding marine environment.

The vast assortment of onboard equipment includes a deep-water multi-beam echosounder, a single-beam depth sounder, a sidescan sonar, a water current meter, and equipment for sampling, storage, and analysis of water, fish, and sediment. There is also 115 square metres of total interior space for an automatic weather station and dry and wet laboratories to allow studies and experiments to be conducted safely while far from shore. The aft deck meanwhile boasts an area of 160 square metres for accommodating a variety of payloads.

Lana will also serve as a mothership for a 7.6-metre autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) to be used for data surveys along the coast and in tight, shallow waters.

A pair of MTU diesel engines allows the vessel to sail at speeds of up to 14 knots while a range of 4,400 nautical miles or an endurance of 20 days is possible when cruising at 12 knots. For survey missions requiring low speeds and reduced noise emissions so as not to affect the accuracy of the collected data, an electric propulsion system will be utilised instead.

Three Caterpillar main generator sets supply power for the vessel's various electrical systems. A fourth generator to be used only during emergencies is available on board as well.

Lana was handed over to the Nigerian Navy in January of this year. It sailed for Lagos in April following the completion of the crew's training and familiarisation program at OCEA in Les Sables-d'Olonne.

More great content as part of this week's Research and Training Week right here.