Nigerian Navy receives former US Coast Guard cutter

The Nigerian Navy has received former US Coast Guard (USCG) cutter, Gallatin, vessel, as part of a transfer agreement and has now been named as NNS Okpabana.

Having served the USCG for 45 years, Gallatin is the second cutter that is being moved to Nigeria within a three-year span under the Excess Defense Article Programme.

The cutter, which was decommissioned in March, was used by the Nigerian crew for training prior to being delivered to the navy.

US Coast Guard Rear Admiral Bruce Baffer was cited by the Post and Courier as saying: "(The vessel) will continue to execute humanitarian missions for Nigeria, an important ally, security partner and collaborator in the struggle against global terror….Our two countries are united in our common goals for peace, safety, security and freedom of the seas."

Built in a Louisiana shipyard, the cutter supported the USCG’s drug interdiction missions in international waters as well as helped carry out search and rescue missions, disaster relief and Homeland Security patrols.

During late 2014, the next generation of Coast Guard national security cutters Hamilton would arrive in Charleston as a replacement to Gallatin.

Boasting latest machinery, navigation and electronics that require less human activity, Hamilton vessel requires only about 120 crewmen and is the first of its kind on the East Coast, with three others being deployed on the West Coast in California.