The NNS Thunder, the ship of the Nigerian Navy,
has won the Tug-of-War competition involving 40 navy warships worldwide.
The
Commanding Officer, Navy Capt. Clement Atebi, who led the 165 crew members to
Australia for the competition, informed about it in Port Harcourt on February
12, 2014, Wednesday.
The NNS
Thunder arrived to the capital of Rivers State, its final berth place, after
successfully participating in the Royal Australian Navy’s International Fleet
Review in Sydney, Australia.
The event,
which had no other African navy representation in attendance, showcased Nigeria
as having the strongest navy on the African continent, going by its
performance.
Atebi said
that the Nigerian navy distinguished itself at the event.
The Capitan
narrated that the ship left Nigeria on August 8, 2013, to Australia, and
arrived in Lagos on December 18, 2013, where it has spent almost two months
before returning to Port Harcourt.
Atebi said
the ship made port calls in Angola, South Africa, Mauritius, Namibia, Congo and
Australia, among others, during the operation.
“The Nigerian
navy was the only navy in Africa that attended the event and being the only
ship that had only blacks onboard; captured the attention of everyone.
“We competed
expertly at the event, including our Match-Past through the city of Sydney. Our
uniform, colour, and composure stood us out from the crowd of all the
participating countries.
“Our navy won
the Tug-of-War sporting competition which showed how physically and tactically
fit our Officers and Ratings are.
“The exercise
also presented a good platform for our Officers and Ratings to gain further
experience which will go a long way to strengthening the Nigerian navy.
“On board the
ship were 165 crew members including our female personnel, and which represents
the first time female Officers and Ratings will participate in an operation of
such magnitude,” the
Capitan revealed.
He also noted
that the inclusion of females was in line with the transformation agenda of
President Goodluck Jonathan, to give equal opportunities to women in every
facet of the Nigerian society.
On
the benefit of the exercise to Nigeria, Atebi said the operation gave the
nation’s navy a better platform to collaborate with other navy around the
world.
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