NNS Ekpe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nigeria | |
| Name | Ekpe |
| Builder | Lurssen |
| Laid down | 17 February 1979 |
| Launched | 17 December 1979 |
| In service | 1980-2010s |
| Home port | Western Naval Command Lagos, Nigeria |
| Status | Inactive |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Ekpe-class fast attack craft |
| Displacement | 373 t (367 long tons) |
| Length | 58.1 m (190 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 7.62 m (25 ft 0 in) |
| Draft | 2.83 m (9 ft 3 in) |
| Propulsion | 4 × MTU diesel engines |
| Range | 2,600 nmi (4,800 km; 3,000 mi) |
| Complement | 40 |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
NNS Ekpe (P178) is a 58-metre (190 ft 3 in) fast attack craft of the Nigerian Navy and is the lead ship of her class.[1] Since her commissioning in the 1980s, she has been homeported at NNS Beecroft in Apapa, Lagos.[2] She is tasked with conducting coastal patrols and ensuring security along Nigeria's coastal waters primarily in the Gulf of Guinea.[2] She is named for the Efik/Ibibio word for the leopard, an animal native to Nigeria.[3] The vessel was deemed as "inactive" in 2020.[4]
She is the first of three German-built Ekpe-class vessels, all of which were laid down on 17 February 1979, at Lürssen Shipyards in Vegesack, West Germany.[1] Ekpe was launched on 17 December 1979, with her service for the Nigerian Navy beginning in August 1980. She was the first missile-equipped fast attack craft (FAC) for the navy and was designed to complement their existing fleet of French La Combattante III type fast attack craft which were also to be delivered in the early 1980s.[5][6] The vessel was refitted in the mid-1990s and her missiles were reportedly removed around this time to control upkeep costs. Further refurbishment occurred when her sister ship, Agu, was cannibalized between 1992 and 1995.[7]