Its been 7hrs since twitter handlle @sabiboharry shared a video of NNS Thunder…which he claimed was sinking and his team civillians had to provide the sailors with a pump/ Nigeria Navy has not confirmed or denied the story.
NNs Thunder was grounded for 2 years and resumed operations after repairs in 2018
Background
The former US Coast Guard cutter Chase has departed the United States for her new home in Nigeria. The NNS Thunder, as she is now known, was transferred to the Nigerian Navy in a formal ceremony on May 13 2011 and underwent a refit prior to her trans-Atlantic voyage.
The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Thunder left Coast Guard Island in Alameda, California, yesterday. Nigerian Minister of State and Defence Erelu Olusola Obada was present at the departure ceremony.
The Chase had been declared as surplus by the US Coast Guard, who said that donating the vessel to Nigeria had saved them US$10 million in disposal costs. The vessel was refitted and a new crew trained.
The Hamilton class High Endurance Cutter was laid down on October 26, 1966 at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans; launched on May 20, 1967 and commissioned on March 11, 1968. The 115 m, 3250-ton cutters is armed with a 76 mm OTO Melera gun and decommissioned on March 29 this year in San Diego. She was transferred as an excess defence article under the US Foreign Assistance Act. One of her sister ships, the Morgenthau, is still based in Alameda, while another was donated to the Philippines.
The class has a crossing range of 9 600 nautical miles (17 800 km) at 20 knots (40 km/h). Top speed is 28 knots. Fitted with a 24 m flight deck – but no hangar – the ship is capable of handling a medium helicopter.
At the NNS Thunder’s renaming ceremony earlier this year Nigerian Ambassador to the US, Adebowale Adefuye, said the ship would be put to use in the Gulf of Guinea region to tackle pirates, illegal oil bunkerers, smugglers and other criminals in order to secure the nation’s offshore oil wealth.
Read More:https://www.defenceweb.co.za/sea/sea-sea/nns-thunder-departs-california-for-nigeria/
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