WAF Shipping Focus: Week 44
A maritime lawyer, Mr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), says Nigeria needs guaranteed cargo, bankable contracts and regulatory certainty to attract private investment into indigenous shipping, rather than relying on government to finance vessels.
Agbakoba disclosed this on Thursday in Lagos at the annual summit of the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN), with the theme, “Low-Risk Capital for Indigenous Ship Owners: Overcoming Regulatory, Financial Bottlenecks”.
The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), Dr Pius Akutah, has called on maritime industry stakeholders in Akwa Ibom State to strengthen collaboration with the Agency in developing local capacity, addressing infrastructure gaps and unlocking the state’s maritime and trade opportunities.
Dr Akutah made the call during an engagement with maritime stakeholders at NPERA’s Port Office in Uyo, where he emphasised that the development of the state’s maritime sector requires collective commitment, practical initiatives and sustained collaboration between the Agency and industry operators.
Former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Barrister Temisan Omatseye; Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola; and renowned maritime lawyer, Barrister Emeka Akabogu, SAN, are expected to headline the 2026 Unity Conference of the Network of Nigeria Maritime Journalists (NNMJ).
The conference, scheduled for Friday, November 13, 2026, at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, will bring together policymakers, maritime regulators, industry leaders and other stakeholders to examine critical issues affecting the performance and competitiveness of Nigeria’s maritime sector.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has denied claims by its former Director General, Mr Temisan Omatseye, over the actual state of proceeds accruable from the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).
Mr Omatseye had alleged at an event in Lagos last week that the CVFF had been converted to naira.
The former Director-General of NIMASA alleged that he much-publicised $350 million CVFF is no longer held in United States dollars, explaining that the funds collected in dollars were converted into naira to earn higher interest rates, a development he said has implications for the current value of the fund.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) recorded a total freight volume of 169,060 between July and September 2026, but cargo movement suffered a sharp setback in September, declining by 24.7 per cent from the preceding month, according to operational data obtained by our correspondent from the corporation.
The data from given by Mr Yemi Odunowo, Deputy Director of Marketing and Commercial at the Nigerian Railway Corporation, showed that freight movement fell from 61,980 in August to 46,640 in September, representing a decline of 15,340 in cargo volume within one month.
Findings by Shipping Position Daily have revealed that the recent unveiling of plans to host the Nigeria Marine and Blue Economy Expo (NIMBEX) by the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is not going down well with maritime industry stakeholders, with the Nigeria Shipowners Association (NISA), describing the idea as clandestinely cloning the long-standing Nigeria Maritime Expo (NIMAREX), an industry-driven exhibition which the association founded years ago.
The disagreement has brought renewed attention to the institutional ownership, organisation and direction of maritime exhibitions in Nigeria, particularly the relationship between government-led initiatives and platforms established by private-sector industry associations.
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