Monday Discourse with Ibrahim Nasiru

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) recently hosted a well-attended stakeholder webinar focusing on the comprehensive transformation and modernization of the Nigerian Flag Registration system.

Amidst the various technical presentations, the core message from the regulatory agency was clear: a bold, unyielding transition toward a fully digitalized, automated ship registry designed to eliminate human bottlenecks.

While the maritime industry must commend the current leadership under Director-General Dr. Dayo Mobereola for prioritizing technological modernization, we must look beyond the glossy PowerPoint presentations and confront the harsh structural realities keeping indigenous shipowners away from our national register.

Automation is an excellent operational tool, but it is not a commercial magic wand.

The fundamental reason Nigerian shipowners aggressively patronize “flags of convenience” in open registries like Panama, Liberia, or the Marshall Islands is not merely the historical speed of registration.

The primary driver is economic survival.

Open registries offer attractive, predictable fiscal frameworks, minimal corporate tax burdens, and a complete absence of the double-customs duties that routinely cripple local operators right here in Nigeria.

If NIMASA truly wants to build a globally competitive flag registry, it must realize that digital speed must be matched by structural fiscal relief.

It is simply not enough to promise a shipowner that they can register a vessel online in 48 hours.

The real question that determines industry compliance is: what is the financial cost of flying the Nigerian flag after that digital registration is complete?

Currently, local shipowners face staggering customs duties on imported vessels, heavy corporate taxes, and an absolute lack of access to single-digit financing.

These financial bottlenecks make indigenous operators instantly uncompetitive against foreign-flagged vessels operating within our own domestic waters.

A digital registry that merely digitizes bureaucratic processes without reducing the underlying operational costs will ultimately fail to attract the required maritime tonnage.

To make this digital transition meaningful, NIMASA must look closely at the implementation of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act of 2003 and the Merchant Shipping Act.

The spirit of the Cabotage Act was designed to empower indigenous operators, yet foreign vessels flying foreign flags still dominate our coastal trade.

This is because flying the Nigerian flag carries a financial penalty rather than a commercial advantage.

Therefore, NIMASA must urgently step outside the traditional boundaries of its maritime regulatory mandate and actively collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Nigeria Customs Service.

The agency must champion concrete fiscal incentives. This includes negotiating comprehensive tax holidays for newly registered indigenous vessels and securing a permanent waiver on customs duties for commercial ships flying the Nigerian flag.

Furthermore, the long-overdue disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) must be strategically integrated into this new digital dawn.

A shipowner who willingly registers their vessel under the Nigerian flag should automatically qualify for priority financial evaluation and access to these single-digit intervention funds to expand their fleet.

The maritime industry does not just want a registry that is easy to access online; we want a registry that makes economic sense to maintain.

The real success of NIMASA’s flag reform will not be measured by the number of webinars hosted or the smoothness of its digital portals.

It will be measured by the volume of actual tonnage that returns to the Nigerian flag.

Until NIMASA collaborates with fiscal authorities to put real economic teeth behind its digital promises, the Nigerian flag registry will remain technically advanced but commercially empty.

Ibrahim Nasiru, a public affairs analyst, write from Abuja.

—as NIMASA reiterates its commitment to its implementation

Funso OLOJO, Editor

The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to using Nigeria’s Cabotage regime to deepen indigenous participation in the maritime sector, with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) declaring the development of local shipping capacity a priority.

The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, stated this during an inspection tour of the African Pioneer Lagos, a specialised offshore Diving Support Vessel (DSV) operated by Marine Platforms Limited.

The visit, according to the NIMASA DG, underscored the growing capacity of Nigerian-owned and Nigerian-flagged vessels to undertake highly specialised offshore operations that were traditionally dominated by foreign operators.

The African Pioneer Lagos, with IMO Number 9808613, is a Nigerian-flagged DSV measuring approximately 143 metres in length, with a deadweight of about 8,000 metric tonnes.

The vessel is equipped for specialised deep-water subsea construction, diving, inspection and offshore oil and gas operations.

Mobereola said he was impressed by the vessel’s capabilities, stressing that Nigerian-flagged vessels with such capacity should enjoy priority in the nation’s maritime space.

“I’m quite happy at what I have seen today after the tour of this 8,000 metric tonnes African Pioneer Specialised Vessel.

“A vessel such as this flying the Nigerian flag should have priority over any foreign vessel.

“We are automating the Nigerian Ship Registry to make it more attractive and to ensure that more vessels like this fly the Nigerian flag.”

The NIMASA boss said improving the attractiveness and efficiency of the Nigerian Ship Registry was critical to encouraging more shipowners to register their vessels under the Nigerian flag.

He added that strengthening the Cabotage regime remained central to the Federal Government’s efforts to build indigenous shipping capacity and ensure that Nigerian companies and professionals occupy a greater share of opportunities in the country’s maritime and offshore sectors.

For the Chief Executive Officer of Marine Platforms Limited, Mr. Taofeek Adegbite, the company’s experience demonstrates the impact that the Cabotage regime and Nigerian Content legislation can have on indigenous shipping companies.

Adegbite said Marine Platforms had benefited significantly from the policy since acquiring its first vessel, Mt. African Vision, in 2012.

He said the company was proud to operate its vessels under the Nigerian flag and encouraged other Nigerian shipowners to embrace the Nigerian Ship Registry.

“Since 2012, when we got our very first vessel, ‘Mt. African Vision’, we are happy and proud to say NIMASA’s Cabotage Regime and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board Act has played a major role in ensuring that our vessels have contracts on a regular basis.

“We have no regret flying the Nigerian flag and I will invite more ship owners to register their flags in the Nigerian Ship Registry.”

Adegbite, however, called for greater attention to the classification and certification of crews operating large and highly specialised vessels.

“At the moment, we would appreciate a classification in such a way that the crew who are operating very big vessels are given special attention so that more very large vessels can fly the Nigerian flag,” he said.

He commended NIMASA for its support, stressing that the African Pioneer Lagos demonstrated that Nigerian companies and maritime professionals possess the technical capacity to operate sophisticated vessels to international standards.

According to him, the continued development of Nigerian-flagged vessels would also create greater opportunities for indigenous maritime manpower and professional development.

Adegbite said Nigeria could learn from countries that had successfully developed specialised niches within the global maritime industry.

He cited the Philippines, which has established a strong global reputation in seafaring, and Norway, renowned for shipbuilding, arguing that Nigeria could equally develop a globally recognised area of maritime specialisation.

He stressed that sustained government policies, effective implementation of the Cabotage regime, access to finance, appropriate regulation and development of maritime manpower would be essential to achieving that objective.

Gloria Odion, Maritme reporter 

President of the Maritime Arbitrators Association of Nigeria (MAAN), Chief Jean Chiazor Anishere, SAN, and President of the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) Nigeria, Dr. Odunayo Ani, have called for a stronger and more professional maritime media and greater representation of women in leadership and decision-making positions across Nigeria’s maritime and blue economy sectors.

The two industry leaders made the call at the 4th Annual Maritime Lecture of the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN), where they stressed that credible journalism and inclusive leadership were critical to ensuring accountability, transparency and sustainable growth in the maritime industry.

Represented at the event by Mrs Oyeyemi Jimi-Salami, Anishere said an informed, independent and professionally grounded maritime press was indispensable to the development of the sector, particularly as Nigeria intensifies efforts to unlock the economic opportunities inherent in the Blue Economy.

She commended MARAN for its sustained engagement with critical maritime issues and what she described as its commitment to responsible reportage.

According to her, the association’s annual lecture had become an important platform for industry stakeholders to interrogate emerging challenges, exchange ideas and seek practical solutions to the problems confronting the maritime sector.

Anishere noted that although sound policies, effective regulation and infrastructure investment were essential to maritime development, these could not deliver the desired results without a knowledgeable media capable of educating the public, scrutinising government policies, promoting transparency and demanding accountability from industry players.

She urged MARAN to continue using its platform to promote professionalism, innovation, accountability and sustainable development in the maritime industry.

“Journalism remains a key pillar of a vibrant maritime sector because it strengthens public confidence, supports informed decision-making and ensures that critical industry issues receive the attention they deserve,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ani called for a fundamental shift in the approach to women’s participation in the maritime industry, arguing that it was no longer sufficient merely to promote inclusion without creating clear pathways for women to attain leadership and decision-making positions.

She said WISTA Nigeria would continue to expand its mentorship, networking, advocacy and leadership development programmes to equip women with the skills, experience and opportunities required to advance in the sector.

Ani challenged government agencies, private-sector operators and other maritime stakeholders to go beyond rhetoric by recruiting, retaining, promoting and sponsoring qualified women, while adopting inclusive workplace policies and setting measurable targets for gender diversity.

She also called for concerted action against discrimination, unequal access to opportunities and unsafe workplace practices which, she said, continued to impede the advancement of women in the maritime industry.

The WISTA Nigeria president further urged male professionals and industry leaders to become active allies in promoting gender equality by mentoring, sponsoring and advocating for women in their organisations.

Ani stressed that women should not be regarded as mere participants in Nigeria’s maritime development but as critical drivers of innovation, leadership and sustainable economic growth.

She argued that providing women with equal opportunities to lead and contribute would not only advance fairness but also strengthen Nigeria’s ability to fully harness the enormous economic potential of its maritime and blue economy.

The speakers’ interventions at the MARAN lecture underscored the growing recognition that Nigeria’s maritime transformation requires not only infrastructure, policy and investment, but also a credible media that can hold the industry to account and a leadership structure that draws fully on the talents of both men and women.