A navy spokesman told AFP the new vessel, "NN Nwanbe", was the latest of three Amercian ships donated to Nigeria to strengthen defence ties between the two countries.

He said the ship was received by Nigeria's naval chief Samuel Afolayan in Lagos on Thursday.

"The ship came at the right time when nefarious activities of illegal bunkering are crumbling our economy," he said.

"Our national assets in the sea are worth billions of dollars and the arrival of NN Nwanbe would help to safeguard them," he added.

Oil industry officials estimate that between 100,000 and 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day are siphoned illegally from facilities in Nigeria's Niger Delta.

Money from bunkering is believed to pay for modern weapons -- including assault rifles, machineguns and rocket launchers -- which arm pirates and ethnic militias around the strife-torn delta area.

Last month, navy patrols seized two oil tankers trying to smuggle thousands of tonnes of stolen crude out of the region.

WAR.WIRE