Nigeria’s Limited Role in Global Shipping Worries Chairman Shipping Association of Nigeria
By Aisha Cole
LAGOS — The Chairman of the Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN), Mrs Boma Alabi, SAN, has expressed concern over Nigeria’s limited participation in international shipping despite being Africa’s largest economy and one of the continent’s biggest trading nations.
Alabi made this known in an interview on Thursday in Lagos, attributing the situation to the decline of indigenous shipping, particularly following the collapse of the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) and the loss of international shipping routes.
She described the decline of indigenous shipping as one of the major setbacks to Nigeria’s maritime sector, noting that the country’s limited shipbuilding capacity had further compounded the challenge.
Alabi cited Nigerdock, formerly known as Niger Dock, as an example of Nigeria’s ambition to develop a strong maritime industrial base.
“Established by the Federal Government in 1986, the facility was created to provide shipbuilding, ship repair and marine engineering services to support Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a maritime powerhouse,” she said.
According to her, Nigerdock operated for years as a major employer and training centre for skilled Nigerians in shipbuilding, welding, fabrication and marine engineering, while also supporting offshore oil and gas operations.
She, however, said the facility’s original ambition gradually faded due to poor management, inadequate investment, a weak maintenance culture, the decline of indigenous shipping and competition from foreign shipyards.
Alabi identified the privatisation of Nigerdock in 2001 and its acquisition by the Jagal Group in 2003 as major turning points in the facility’s history.
She said the developments marked a strategic shift from traditional shipbuilding towards logistics and port operations.
According to her, Nigerdock now operates from the Snake Island Integrated Free Zone in Lagos as an integrated maritime and logistics hub, providing ship-repair, terminal management, logistics solutions and port development services.
Alabi said that although the transformation demonstrated the facility’s resilience and capacity to adapt to changing economic realities, it also reflected the broader challenges facing Nigeria’s maritime industry.
She noted that the country continued to lose substantial economic opportunities and potential revenue from freight services, vessel ownership and shipbuilding contracts to foreign operators.
The SAN chairman stressed that revitalising indigenous shipping and developing local shipbuilding capacity were essential to strengthening Nigeria’s maritime industry and maximising the economic benefits of its international trade.
She added that a vibrant shipping and shipbuilding industry would create thousands of jobs, stimulate industrialisation, strengthen local manufacturing and improve the country’s competitiveness in the global maritime market.
Alabi further emphasised that developing the sector would position Nigeria to take greater advantage of opportunities in the growing blue economy, while reducing dependence on foreign shipping operators and maritime services.
She called for renewed attention to indigenous shipping, maritime infrastructure and industrial capacity to enable Nigeria to reclaim a stronger position in international shipping.
