Pirates Attack 6 Ships in Nigeria

On Sunday we highlighted some disturbing developments coming out of Nigeria. The news today is another warning things are deteriorating quickly.

Unknown gunmen attacked six oil industry ships on the channel leading to Nigeria's largest oil and gas export complex on Bonny Island on Wednesday, oil company security sources said.

Two people were injured, one of them seriously, but none of the vessels was boarded, the sources said. Bonny Island is the export point for about 400,000 barrels per day of crude oil and 18 million tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas.

"Six vessels were attacked within the space of about 20 minutes," one of the sources said, asking not to be named.

There are a number of different aspects to the situation in Nigeria, it is difficult to tell if MEND is involved in this incident, or if this is a criminal element. Reading the article further reveals the Nigerians believe the attackers were most likely pirates, but the article makes the point they actually have no idea who is responsible.

In their annual piracy report, IMB notes an increase in piracy in Nigeria for 2007. The US Navy supposedly has an evolving, slowly emerging strategy for that region with its African Partnership Initiative program, but we are yet to see evidence that program does more than provide local security forces training. In the case of Nigeria, the local security forces are either overwhelmed or overtly corrupt, and the military is engaged against the MEND insurgency, so while the training helps, it won't be enough.

AFRICOM is meeting a great deal of skepticism in Nigeria, if not outright rejection. Given the American track record in that region, that is hardly surprising. With the security problems deteriorating though, it is possible the US will get an opening to contribute to the security situation, and if that call comes I hope both our political leaders and the DoD is ready to respond effectively. They will probably get a shot to make a first impression, although probably at a small, limited level. It will be important to make the right impression when the opening comes.

As for the status of the API, the USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) arrived in Libreville, Gabon this week. It is still unclear how effective the API is. That might be good news though, there is some speculation that the API can be evaluated as more successful the less we hear about it in the press. Considering how very little we have heard about the pilot Global Fleet Station in the Caribbean Sea in its last 2+ months of its deployment, despite all the early attention that GFS got, it must of been an extraordinary success. Or not.

6th Fleet Focus: Early Victory for AFRICOM

When the USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) deployed on Tuesday, the nations expecting to participate in the African Partnership Station Initiative included Senegal, Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, and Sao Tome & Principe. Other nations have been invited, but no official interest from other nations had been announced.

There are two African nations specifically that have been critical of the US efforts to stand up AFRICOM, South Africa and Nigeria. Nigeria specifically was a hopeful for the African Partnership Station Initiative to take place in Global Fleet Station initiative in the Gulf of Guinea, but as of yesterday Nigeria hadn't expressed interest. Today, we have news otherwise.

The top U.S. Navy official in the African region says Nigeria, long opposed to the slowly developing increased American military presence on the continent, has accepted an invitation to participate in a new maritime security program.

U.S. officials, as they were planning the “Africa Partnership Station” (APS) effort, extended an invitation to a long list of African nations, including Nigeria and South Africa, which have both signaled opposition to the new U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). Both nations’ governments also have raised concern about Washington’s intention to focus more on the long-troubled continent.

South African leaders have not yet responded to an invitation “to at least send observers” for the first APS activities off the continent’s western coastline; Nigerian officials “initially showed no interest,” said Adm. Henry Ulrich, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and the Sixth Fleet.

But the Nigerian leaders recently altered course, the soon-to-retire four-star said during an Oct. 16 Center for Strategic and International Studies-sponsored forum in Washington, indicating the African nation will take part. The “level of that participation,” Ulrich said, has not yet been determined.

This comes off news earlier this month of the USS Doyle (FFG 39), already in the region, conducted exercises with the South African frigate SAS Mendi (F 148) and 4 patrol boats of Ghana. The Navy has found mutual interest with the critics and is bringing them into the fold.

Time to eat crow. I have been especially hard on Ulrich, who I have not been impressed with in affairs of Europe. However, when it comes to Africa, Ulrich continues to produce big. This blogs author, and his staff of support who is wiser than he, extends its apology to the Admiral for our unfair criticism to date. While this blogs position is the good Admiral says things that are quite disagreeable, actions speak louder than words.

All the credit here goes to Admiral Ulrich, and I would forecast that following the good PR following successful SNMG1 tour of Africa from the last few months, South Africa will ultimately be involved in some way. When you look at Ulrich's record of just the last few months, whether it is the SNMG-1 African Cruise, Maritime Domain Awareness initiatives in the Mediterranean Sea, or this African Partnership Station Initiative the US Navy 6th Fleet is doing good work with joint, international cooperation on every level.

But it doesn't end there, the article goes on to cover this tidbit:

From Washington, Ulrich is heading to a sea-power conference featuring naval chiefs from across the globe. There, he said he wants to explain why the next ship that sails into the Gulf of Guinea for the APS effort “isn’t flying an American flag.” To that end, five European nations already have signed on, and “Spain, Italy, France are all very interested,” he said.

U.S. officials have been in early talks with nations along the east African coasts about bringing APS or a very similar initiative to that side of the continent, Ulrich said, adding nothing has yet been nailed down.

It will be interesting to see what types of ships European nations send to the region. Noteworthy though, because there has been some discussion that France is interested in leading the next Global Fleet Station Initiative to East Africa, specifically rumored to be willing to deploy a Mistral class. I thought that was rumor only, but maybe there is some truth to it?

The Global Fleet Station concept is an extension of the Sea Basing concept in Sea Power 21, and in my opinion the best Sea Basing idea to come out yet. What I am impressed by is how the US Navy has already influenced allies with this idea to get them on board. When one considers the potential of international Sea Bases of maneuver in maritime regions with security problems, the 1000-ship Navy vision is realized.

6th Fleet Focus: African Partnership Station Initiative

The USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) deployed today on the second US Navy Global Fleet Station deployment. Admiral Henry Ulrich has given the GFS a name, the African Partnership Station Initiative. In his press conference on Monday, Adm Ulrich laid out the details describing 4 pillars of training emphasis that will be utilized in the deployment.

• Maritime Domain Awareness
• Maritime Professionals
• Maritime Infrastructure
• Maritime Enforcement

Stars and Stripes has the summery of the press conference.

The USS Fort McHenry was expected to leave Norfolk, Va., on Tuesday, on a mission to deliver training teams to western Africa next month, said the head of U.S. Naval Forces Europe on Monday.

The Fort McHenry and the High Speed Vessel Swift are expected to begin a seven-month deployment to the Gulf of Guinea in November as part of the Navy’s Global Fleet Station program, according to the Navy.

The mission will allow training teams aboard the Fort McHenry to assist western African nations develop their maritime security capabilities, said Adm. Henry G. Ulrich III.

The training teams will have between 80 and 100 people, and will consist of both civilian and military personnel, Ulrich told reporters Monday.

The teams will include representatives from European and African countries’ militaries, U.S. government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, Ulrich said.

Their missions will include civil engineering, port security, humanitarian assistance, and search and rescue, according to information provided by the Navy.

This is the first major initiative of AFRICOM, and will likely get a lot of attention and create the framework for what the US intends to do with AFRICOM. The details from the first Global Fleet Station deployment have not been publicized, and it is unclear if the press will pay any attention to this deployment either. A few thoughts.

Oil bunkering in this region is currently costing the region around 3 million dollars a day. That is on top of other problems, including illegal fishing, which probably sounds like nothing to a laymen but is actually a billion dollar industry in that region. Additionally there is piracy, insurgency, terrorism, and other security problems that require stronger domestic maritime security forces to deal with. In all, the African Partnership Station Initiative can impact the economics of the Gulf of Guinea region in a number of ways.

I've recently found myself reading Thomas P.M. Barnett, and found a specific blog update the other day very interesting. I haven't done my research well enough to comment extensively, but I did order Blueprint for Action after I read it.

Barnett was commenting on this report out of Reuters.

Wars stripped about $284 billion from Africa's economies between 1990 and 2005, roughly equal to the amount of aid money given to the world's poorest continent, according to a report on Thursday by Oxfam International.

In the study "Africa's Missing Billions," the British aid group said the 23 conflicts engulfing Africa in the period had shrunk economies by an average 15 percent per year at a cost of almost $18 billion a year.

Oxfam based its estimate on a calculation of the various costs of conflicts and violence, including higher military expenditures, loss of development aid, rising inflation and medical expenses of those injured or disabled.

It said, however, that the tally was probably on the low side, when considering the impact of civil wars on the economies of neighbouring countries as well as the long-term effects of higher military spending on individual economies.

Barnett, whose blog has become a daily visit for me, threw me off when he advocated military action as part of the solution to the problems in Africa the other day. His blog entry makes a case in and of itself, but I think I'll reserve extensive comment until after I read his book. One thing I would add though, I included the link to the "Africa's Missing Billions" report, which I tend to agree went low on the costs. Make sure you read it before you criticize Barnett, because the report does tend to support his position, even if it is counter intuitive.

While Global Fleet Stations is a service oriented operation as opposed to a military campaign, it seems to me if you were to engage militarily in Africa, the only way to do it would be with smaller forces on the ground taking on the centers of gravity of other smaller forces on the ground, while also interdicting arms shipments by land and air. All three of those roles fall into the capabilities of the Navy and Marine Corp combined with SOF, and in such an action, a "full spectrum" support team similar to the one used in the GFS concept makes the most sense regarding post action activity. Food for thought.