The year 2024 has finally come to an end with many maritime-related issues remaining unresolved while others are battling compliance or regulatory issues. In this report, TOLA ADENUBI looks at perspectives that will define the Nigerian maritime industry in 2025. 

As the new year unfolds, the Nigerian maritime industry has seen its fair share of ups and down in 2024. From issues that bother on lack of indigenous capacity in the shipping sub-sector to a lack of compliance to the newly introduced Waterways Transportation Code in some parts of the country and a myriad of other unsolved issues, there is much expectation that come 2025, half of these issues should be permanently resolved.

CVFF

Since 2003 when the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act, otherwise known as the Cabotage Act was enacted, the main objective has primarily been to reserve the commercial transportation of goods and services within Nigerian coastal and inland waters to vessels flying the Nigerian flag and owned by persons of Nigerian citizenship.

However, 21 years down the line, the fund has remained undisbursed, leading to a lack of indigenous tonnage among Nigerian ship-owners. With many Nigerian ship-owners lacking vessels to fully participate in the nations Cabotage regime, foreign vessels have continued to plunder the nations Cabotage space, leading to economic losses via increased capital flight.

The creation of the new Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in 2023 by the Federal Government brought renewed enthusiasm among maritime stakeholders that at last, the fund will be disbursed the following year (2024). However, that hope is gradually fading given the continuous lip service being paid to the disbursement of the fund by the Federal Government.

With a new year just beginning, another golden opportunity awaits the Federal Government to finally address the bottlenecks tied to the CVFF disbursement.

Port modernisation

It is no longer news that some of the Nigerian ports have become dilapidated with berth sections experiencing near or total collapse. The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in 2024 began to move towards rehabilitating these ports. From Apapa to Tin-Can down to ports in the eastern flanks of the nation’s waterways, sections were identified for rehabilitation and total overhaul. With funding options available to the Federal Government, it is expected that the commencement of the port rehabilitation process will begin in 2025.

Waterways transportation code

The Federal Government through the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) in 2023 introduced the Inland Waterways Transportation Regulations 2023, otherwise referred to as the Waterways Transportation Code.

The Code, which was designed to standardise operations, minimise accidents and create a more structured environment for potential waterways investors, witnessed massive sensitization campaigns across the country in 2024.

However, despite these sensitization campaigns, boat mishaps have persisted, particularly in a particular section of the country, testing the will and strength of the code to implement compliance.

As the new year begins, there will be much focus on NIWA and how it intends to ensure the principles setting up the Code is implemented. With incessant boat mishaps claiming lives across the nation’s inland waterways, how NIWA enforces sanity via the new law will define the level of success that the country will hope to make on her brown water economy.

Single window

The idea behind the Single Window has always been to integrate all the processes of government agencies present at the nations ports. In the area of automation, many government agencies have embraced this in their port processes. From the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), amongst others, port processes are now online. However, integration of all these processes is still a tall dream.

With many government agencies working at cross-purposes via their separate online platforms, port users have been at the receiving end, paying hugely for services not rendered, thus making Nigerian ports to rank as one of the most difficult ports to conduct business in.

The lack of a Single Window platform has allowed for human-to-human contacts in many Nigerian ports, leading to extortion of port users and payment of monies not receipted.

With the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) canvassing for international backing and technical support towards the Single Window initiative, it is hoped that 2025 will be the year that human to human interface is eradicated in Nigerian port system.

Speaking in 2024 as a participant at the World Ports Conference held in Hamburg-Germany, the Managing Director of the NPA, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho said, the renewed vigour with which Nigeria is accelerating the implementation of National Single Window project which will in fundamental terms deepen port efficiencies by eliminating human interface that hitherto undermine In-country trade facilitation efforts, requires intensified international technical support to meet and indeed exceed global expectations.

IMO election

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council is the decision- making body of the United Nations specialised agency responsible for regulating the global maritime industry. Since 2009 when Nigeria got elected into the council seat, the country has lost repeatedly in her attempts to return to the decision-making arm of the IMO.

2025 affords Nigeria another opportunity at contesting for positions on the IMO Council seat. The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola, in 2024 already set the ball rolling when he met with the Liberian Minister of Transportation, Sirleaf Ralph Tyler, in the quest to ensure Nigeria gets re-elected into the IMO Category C seat.

In a post on X by the NPA, Oyetola solicited for the support of other maritime nations at the ongoing 133rd Session of the IMO Council in London.

Buttressing the resolve of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy on Nigeria’s interest in the forthcoming IMO elections, the Director General of the NIMASA, Dr Dayo Mobereola, assured that no stone will be left unturned to ensure success in the quest for IMO Category C membership at the next elections.

He said, “We at NIMASA have engaged with the IMO technical team to address gaps identified in the last audit. We’re also enhancing communication with member states via the IMO GSIS platform. While we focus on technical aspects, our supervising Ministry will provide the political support needed for Nigeria’s return to the IMO Council.”

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