The newly acquired Landing Ship Tank (LST) by the Nigerian Navy would arrive Nigeria on Friday May 27, 2022, the militarynewsng.com can authoritatively report.
The Nigerian Navy’s new Landing Ship Tank (LST), NNS Kada, headed home after being completed by Damen Shipyards in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Nigerian Navy in a statement said the LST 100 departed Sharjah in the UAE on April 1, and is expected to arrive on 27 May after covering a distance of 8 400 nautical miles.
The vessel had made stopovers in five countries before arriving in Lagos, including Oman (Port Duqm), Kenya (Mombasa), South Africa (Cape Town), Angola (Luanda), and Gabon (Port Gentil).
NNS Kada was handed over to the Nigerian Navy on 30 March this year after being ordered in May 2018 and launched on 7 June 2021.
The Nigerian Navy said the new vessel (LST 1314) will bolster the Nigerian Navy’s sealift capability. Specifically, it will enhance the transportation of troops, military hardware, vehicles in the conduct of maritime security operations launched from sea as well as supply of relief material during period of national emergency.
“Furthermore, the vessel will serve as a critical component of naval power projection for enhanced maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea and beyond. In its secondary role, the LST will play a critical role in the protection of maritime assets and preservation of law and order at sea, thus contributing significantly to promotion of global maritime commerce, peace and safety,” the Nigerian Navy said.
The new LST has a complement of 32 crew and 250 embarked persons and a length of 100.08 metres. NNS Kada is powered by two Caterpillar/Cat 3516 C-rating engines (1 650-3386 hp each) and four Caterpillar C-18 generators. The vessel has an endurance of 15 days/4 000 nautical miles at 15 knots and a maximum speed of 16 knots. If used for humanitarian missions/evacuation, NNS Kada can accommodate over 450 persons on the upper and lower decks on short trips.
The 1 300 ton LST has a bow ramp that allows for the direct transfer to and from beaches and is rated to 70 tonnes. The internal ramp is rated at 30 tonnes and the stern ramp 70 tonnes. The vessel can carry two embarked LCVPs (landing craft, vehicle, personnel), a helicopter/UAV on the flight deck, unmanned undersea vehicles and miscellaneous cargo with a 25 ton deck crane.