WAF Shipping Focus: Week 25
- Agwe Logistics Solutions
- Jun 26
- 3 min read
This week, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) will again lead the world in the annual celebration of seafarers. Precisely, June 25 every year has come to be known as the Day of the Seafarer.
What has now become an annual ritual of celebrating the world’s seafarers actually started in 2010. It was in that year that the Diplomatic Conference met in Manila, Philippines and adopted milestone revisions to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW Convention) and its associated Code. The conference agreed that the unique contributions made by seafarers from all over the world, to international seaborne trade, the world economy and civil society as a whole, should be marked annually with a ‘Day of the Seafarer’.
The latest World Bank Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), which ranked the Lagos Port Complex (Apapa) and Tin Can Island Port among the world’s most improved ports, has sparked fresh debate in Nigeria’s maritime sector, with stakeholders divided over whether the recognition reflects real economic gains or only statistical improvement in efficiency indicators.
The CPPI report, jointly released by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, placed the two Lagos ports among the top global improvers over a five-year period, citing improvements in vessel turnaround time, cargo handling efficiency, and overall operational performance between 2020 and 2025. The ranking has been described as one of the strongest global acknowledgements yet of Nigeria’s port reforms.
Maritime stakeholders have expressed divergent views over the continued relevance of bonded terminals in Lagos, even as operators warn that the over N5 trillion worth of investments are lying largely idle. This is even as critics contend that the facilities have outlived their usefulness and no longer play a significant role in addressing port congestion.
The debate comes amid renewed traffic build-up along the Apapa and Tin Can port corridors and increasing concerns from some stakeholders that bonded terminal operators may soon be forced out of business if current operational trends persist.
The Nigerian Navy has intercepted two wooden boats conveying illegally mined black sand, and arrested 13 suspects in Bayelsa.
The Director of Naval Information, Capt. Abiodun Folorunsho, said this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.
Folorunsho said that with the operation, the navy had recorded another operational success in its efforts to curb illegal exploitation of natural resources
According to him, the operation was conducted by Forward Operating Base (FOB) FORMOSO, following credible intelligence on the movement of boats suspected to be involved in illegal mining activities.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigeria Police Force have launched a renewed clampdown on unauthorised checkpoints and roadblocks along the Apapa and Tin Can Island port corridors in Lagos, as part of efforts to ease chronic congestion and improve cargo movement on the nation’s busiest logistics routes.
The Managing Director of the NPA, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, disclosed this after a high-level stakeholders’ meeting held in Lagos involving security agencies, freight forwarders, and transport unions. The meeting focused on addressing operational bottlenecks hindering smooth access to the port corridors.
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s maritime industry have charged maritime journalists to uphold the highest standards of ethical journalism as a critical tool for advancing transparency, accountability, security, and sustainable development within the sector.
The call was made on Thursday during the inauguration of the newly elected Executive Council of the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) in Lagos, where industry leaders, government officials, and media professionals gathered to discuss the theme: “Upholding Ethical Journalism for Maritime Development.”
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