The US Coast Guard has linked up with the Nigerian Navy in an effort to improve its maritime law enforcement capabilities.
Six officers from the USCG's Virginia training centre will work with 24 Nigerian Navy officers this month on various issues, including anti-piracy measures, Nigeria's Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The effort is sponsored by US Africa Command.
The USCG did not immediately return a request for comment.
The training comes after the Nigerian government launched the $195m Deep Blue Project to combat piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, identified by many as the world's new piracy hotspot.
Despite piracy being at a 27-year low, the West African waters have been the site of several high-profile shootings and kidnappings in recent months.
The project is led by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, whose head, Bashir Jamoh, said recently that piracy has cost the country nearly $800m.
The figure takes into account loss of revenue used instead in ransom payments, insurance premiums, rerouting of ships, cost of security equipment, losses for the domestic oil and fishing sectors, and costs from security escorts.
Jamoh had previously argued that the Deep Blue Project has already led to a significant decline in piracy, and called for the war risk premium for Nigeria-bound ships to be dropped.
In addition to anti-piracy measures, the USCG-Nigerian Navy training will help authorities police illegal fishing, human trafficking, drug and gun smuggling and oil infrastructure security.
