The new landing ship is being constructed for the Nigerian Navy by Damen Shipyards is one step closer to being fully combat ready.
The landing ship tank; an LST 100 class vessel (Damen classification LST 1314) will replace the decommissioned landing ships NNS Ambe and NNS Ofiom which were Type 502 amphibious vessels built by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Germany in 1978.
Demen Shipyards began building the LST 100 (LST 1314) towards the end of 2019, with Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, attending the keel-laying ceremony at Damen’s shipyard in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
DSNS (Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding) the naval shipbuilding arm of Damen shipyards is handling the contract, while the ship is being constructed at the Damen-Albwardi Shipbuilding Yard in Sharjar in the UAE.
Damen Shipyards of the Netherlands beat Anadolu Deniz of Turkey and Indian Shipyards GOA of India to win the bidding contract which was organized by a team from the Bureau of Public Procurement as well as a technical committee of the Nigerian Navy in 2017.
LST 100 (LST 1314) was supposed to be delivered at least in May 2020 but was delayed by the restrictions caused by the covid-19 pandemic.
So far, Damen has moved the ship down the slipway into the sea for final refitting using a heavy-duty synchro-lift. The hull and superstructure are complete and the propellers and associated shafting are in place. However, the engines have not been fitted.
According to Demen, the LST 100 (LST 1314) would be ready for delivery by early next year.
The LST 100 class vessel is a 100 m-long landing ship with a displacement of 1,300 tonnes, a range of 4,000 n miles, and an endurance of 15 days. It has both stern and bow ramps, as well as a flight deck for a medium helicopter. It can carry 235 troops as well as 18 crew. Two davits for launching and recovering landing craft and a 25-tonne cargo crane are options.
When completed, the new LST will provide essential sealift capabilities for the Nigerian Navy especially during periods of national emergency.
