Navy’s Charts’ll Provide Potential for Nigeria’s Blue Economy — Uzodimma
The Imo State Governor, Sen. Hope Uzodimma has said that the newly-unveiled Nigerian Navy’s Hydrographic Chart will support Nigeria’s sustainable development of the Blue Economy while mitigating the effects of climate change.
The Governor disclosed this while unveiling seven other navigational charts connecting Ondo to Lagos State via the River Alape, at the Nigerian Navy’s 2023 World Hydrography Day with the theme: ‘hydrography: Underpinning the Digital Twin of the Ocean’.
Governor Uzodimma hinted that the ‘Digital Twin of the Ocean’ for this year will present the digital representation of real-time and future ocean parameters that will offer valuable tools for policymakers which in turn will provide sustainable ocean management and resources.
“I must acknowledge that the Nigerian Navy has made significant strides in enhancing maritime domain awareness through hydrographic surveys and charting activities. These efforts led to the production of up-to-date nautical charts, enabling safer navigation and reducing risks faced by ships and seafarers operating within Nigerian waters.
“Through a dedicated hydrographic practice, the NN acquires a series of datasets that are not only relevant in chart production but are also used in a wide range of other engineering and socio-economic applications, including the creation of the Digital Twin of the Ocean.
“In today’s world, the actions of governments, coastal communities, maritime resource exploration and exploitation companies, global warming, and climate change have led to sea level rise among others, thereby exerting tremendous pressures on the health of the ocean”, he said.
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He commended the effort of his Ondo state counterpart, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who in 2022 engaged the services to survey, chart, and open up River Alape from Ilaje into Apapa in Lagos, to boost economic activities for transportation, agriculture, and tourism.
He informed that presently, there is a team of highly dedicated Naval personnel in Imo State, conducting the pre-dredging survey of the sea access development route in the state from Oguta Lake, via Orashi River to the Atlantic Ocean.
In his remark, Navy Chief of Training and Operations, Rear Admiral Solomon Agada who stood in for Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral AZ Gambo said the decision by the United Nations General Assembly to set aside 21 June of every year to be celebrated as the World Hydrography Day, shows the global significance of hydrography to human life and national development.
According to him, “If you look around you, almost all finished goods or raw materials, are likely to have been transported across the seas. Hydrography provides the information required by ships and other waterborne crafts to safely convey essential goods and services from one part of the world to another.
“Through the integration of hydrographic and other relevant marine geospatial data, current and future dynamics of the ocean can be replicated virtually to provide the requisite knowledge for all stakeholders to ensure sustainable development of the ocean.
“To the Government, the Digital Twin of the Ocean provides the right information to evolve measures to mitigate the effect of nature on the ocean as well as formulate sustainable policies to regulate the activities within the ocean”.
The Ondo State Acting Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa acknowledged the unrelenting efforts of the Nigerian Navy Hydrographic department under the leadership of Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral AZ Gambo CFR for enhancing maritime domain awareness through hydrographic surveys and charting activities.
By PRNigeria
