MARITIME TRADE & SHIPPING
NSW Launch to Slash Port Clearance Time to 48 Hours, Attract $3bn Investment — Expert
NSW Launch to Slash Port Clearance Time to 48 Hours, Attract $3bn Investment — Expert
By Okeoghene Onoriobe, News Correspondent, Waterways News | Lagos
Nigeria’s long-awaited National Single Window (NSW) platform is set to dramatically cut cargo clearance times at the country’s ports from as many as 21 days to under 48 hours, while potentially unlocking between $2 billion and $3 billion in private logistics investment over the next five years.
This projection was made by Dele Kelvin Oye, Chairman of the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics (AERE), in a policy commentary ahead of the scheduled March 27 launch of the platform’s first phase — a development that port and maritime industry stakeholders are watching closely.
Oye described the initiative as a decisive turning point for Nigeria’s import and export procedures, noting that the NSW is designed to collapse the country’s fragmented, multi-agency trade processes into a single digital portal where traders can submit documentation once, make payments electronically, and track shipments in real time.
Central to the platform’s value proposition is the integration of key government agencies involved in cargo clearance — including the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
“The stakes could not be higher,” Oye said. “The National Single Window promises to reduce cargo clearance times from about 18 to 21 days to under 48 hours, eliminate duplicate documentation, and attract between $2 billion and $3 billion in private logistics investment within five years.”
For Nigeria’s ports — long burdened by bureaucratic bottlenecks and overlapping agency mandates — the implications are significant. Oye noted that the platform would eliminate the duplication of documentation that currently slows cargo processing, improving both efficiency and transparency across the entire logistics chain.
“The National Single Window promises to reduce cargo clearance times from about 18 to 21 days to under 48 hours, eliminate duplicate documentation, and attract between $2 billion and $3 billion in private logistics investment within five years.”
A History of Failed Attempts
The renewed push for a Single Window system comes after three previous efforts collapsed. Earlier attempts in 2009 and 2012 fell apart due to inter-agency rivalry, institutional resistance, and inadequate political support. The current initiative gained traction in 2024 following backing from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with implementation now coordinated by the National Single Window Secretariat under Director Tola Fakolade. The system has since received legislative grounding through the Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025.
Governance Concerns
Despite the optimism, Oye raised a pointed concern about the decision to domicile the platform under the Nigeria Revenue Service rather than a trade or investment promotion agency. He warned that such an arrangement risks blurring the boundary between trade facilitation and tax enforcement — a distinction that could undermine the confidence of private sector users if not carefully managed.
He also stressed that success would hinge on genuine private sector engagement. Freight forwarders, exporters, port operators, and financial institutions — as the platform’s primary users — must be actively involved in its design and governance, he said.
Global Benchmarks
Drawing on international comparisons, Oye pointed to Singapore’s TradeNet, which processes approximately 99 percent of trade permits within 10 minutes. Rwanda’s single window platform reduced import clearance from 11 days to roughly 1.5 days and saves the country an estimated $18 million annually. Ghana’s GCNet system cut the number of officers involved in cargo clearance from 12 to just three.
Nigeria, he argued, must now decide whether the NSW will primarily serve as a revenue collection instrument or as a genuine platform for trade competitiveness.
“With the right governance structure and strong private sector participation, the National Single Window can become a catalyst for trade expansion and investment,” he said.
Waterways News is Nigeria’s foremost maritime and ports publication.
MARITIME TRADE & SHIPPING
Djibouti Unveils Largest Shipyard in East Africa, Strengthening Its Maritime Dominance
Djibouti Unveils Largest Shipyard in East Africa, Strengthening Its Maritime Dominance
By Raymond Gold | Waterways News
Djibouti has taken a bold step in cementing its status as Africa’s foremost maritime hub, officially inaugurating the Djibouti Ship Repair Yard (DSRY) — now the largest ship repair facility in both the Red Sea and East Africa — in a development that is already drawing attention across the continent’s maritime community.
The facility, developed through a strategic partnership with the Dutch shipbuilding giant, Damen Shipyards Group, was formally opened by President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh and financed by Invest International of the Netherlands at a cost of €107.5 million (approximately $116.5 million). The project, a decade in the making, marks a defining moment not only for Djibouti but for the broader African maritime landscape.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, President Guelleh underscored the significance of the project to the nation’s long-term ambitions. “The DSRY project has always been a national priority, given Djibouti’s strategic location at the entrance to the Bab el-Mandeb, one of the world’s busiest maritime routes,” he said.
The Bab el-Mandeb strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, serves as a critical artery for global trade, channeling cargo between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. It is against this backdrop that the new yard’s strategic importance becomes immediately apparent.
A Facility Built for Scale
The DSRY is no modest undertaking. Positioned on 80 hectares with over 800 metres of berth, the facility is equipped with a floating dock measuring 217 metres in length and 43 metres in width, with a lifting capacity of 20,100 tonnes — infrastructure capable of accommodating a wide range of vessel types. The yard is designed to deliver both preventive and corrective maintenance services, supported by a combination of international expertise and local talent.
Work at the yard did not wait for the official inauguration to begin. As far back as October 15, 2025, the first large vessel had already entered for dry-docking — the Africa Sun, a 13,719 dwt Djibouti-flagged containership operating along Red Sea and Middle Eastern routes, which docked for a month of repairs.
Aboubaker Omar Hadi, Chairman of the Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, said the facility aligns squarely with Djibouti’s 2035 vision, reinforcing the country’s ambition to become the preeminent maritime services centre on the continent. Minister of Infrastructure and Equipment Hassan Houmed Ibrahim went further, describing the yard as “a strategic national asset that enhances port competitiveness, supports the blue economy, and strengthens Djibouti’s regional position.”
Arnout Damen, President of Damen Shipyards, reaffirmed his company’s commitment to the yard’s long-term operational success, signalling that this is more than a construction handover — it is an ongoing partnership.
Beyond the infrastructure itself, the DSRY is projected to create approximately 350 direct jobs and around 1,400 indirect positions, while nurturing a generation of skilled young professionals in advanced technical maritime fields.
A Strategic Move in a Competitive Region
Djibouti’s investment comes at a particularly charged moment in regional maritime politics. The Horn of Africa is witnessing intensifying competition over port access and control, with the United Arab Emirates actively expanding its footprint through investments and long-term port agreements across the region. Djibouti and the UAE have themselves been locked in prolonged legal disputes over port concession arrangements — a reminder of how high the stakes are in this arena.
For years, East Africa and the broader African continent have depended heavily on overseas facilities in the Middle East, Europe, or Asia for major vessel repairs, draining foreign exchange and adding logistical burden to ship operators. The DSRY fundamentally disrupts that pattern, offering a world-class alternative on African soil.
As maritime analysts have noted, the development reflects a wider continental trend: Africa is no longer content to serve merely as a transit corridor for global shipping. From Southern Africa to West Africa, investments in repair capacity are signalling an era of vertical integration — where ports, logistics, and ship maintenance ecosystems are being developed together. Djibouti’s DSRY is perhaps the most dramatic expression of that ambition yet.
Nigeria Watch
As Djibouti Opens Africa’s Largest Shipyard, Nigeria’s Floating Dock Remains a Cautionary Tale
The inauguration of Djibouti’s Djibouti Ship Repair Yard serves as both an inspiration and a sobering mirror for Nigeria — Africa’s most populous nation and, by rights, one of its most strategically positioned maritime players.
Nigeria is not without assets in this space. Nigerdock, located at the Snake Island Integrated Free Zone in Lagos, remains the largest shipyard facility in West Africa, boasting a 25,000 DWT graving dock, floating dock facilities, and multipurpose workshops that have serviced over 600 vessels in its more than three-decade history. The yard offers ship repair, maintenance, refurbishment, and offshore fabrication services, and has long been a point of pride for the country’s maritime sector.
Yet even as Djibouti cuts the ribbon on a $116.5 million state-of-the-art facility, Nigeria continues to grapple with the ghost of what should have been a transformative asset. A floating dry dock, procured at a cost of approximately N50 billion in public funds — now worth considerably more given naira depreciation — arrived in Nigeria as far back as 2018 and reportedly remained idle for years, caught in a web of bureaucratic bottlenecks and indecision over where to site it. Industry stakeholders have repeatedly described the situation as emblematic of a wider malaise afflicting Nigeria’s maritime infrastructure development.
Watchers of Nigeria’s maritime sector are not blind to the potential. With an estimated 5,000 ship calls annually at its ports, hundreds of active coastal vessels, and a significant fishing fleet, the commercial case for a functional, world-class ship repair ecosystem in Nigeria is overwhelming. Industry estimates have suggested the country could save upwards of N350 billion annually — and earn millions more in foreign exchange — by reducing its dependence on overseas dry-docking, which can cost operators over $1 million per tow before a single repair is carried out.
The question, as Djibouti’s example makes plain, is not whether Nigeria has the need or the resources. It is whether the country can muster the institutional will to transform that need into reality — before other nations on the continent permanently capture the market that should, by geography and volume, belong to Nigeria.
Raymond Gold is Co-publisher and Research reporter for Waterways News. For maritime industry updates, visit www.waterwaysnews.ng
MARITIME TRADE & SHIPPING
NPA: Nigeria Shipped Over 500,000 Tonnes of Petroleum Products from Dangote Refinery to Africa in March
NPA: Nigeria Shipped Over 500,000 Tonnes of Petroleum Products from Dangote Refinery to Africa in March
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News Correspondent | Lagos
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) says it played a central role in facilitating the export of more than 500,000 tonnes of petroleum products from the Dangote Refinery to African countries in March alone — a development the authority attributes to improved port coordination and the deployment of a One-Stop-Shop (OSS) framework at the refinery’s terminal.
NPA Managing Director, Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ engagement convened by the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in Lagos, describing the feat as a demonstration of Nigeria’s growing capacity as a petroleum export hub on the continent.
“As a matter of fact, in the past month, we exported over 500,000 tonnes of petroleum products from Dangote Refinery to African countries. The exports are handled by ships, supported by the NPA’s capacity in port and cargo operations,” Dantsoho said.
The NPA boss noted that despite disruptions to global vessel movement caused by the ongoing Middle East conflict, Nigeria’s domestic and export petroleum supply chains remained stable — a contrast, he said, to several other nations grappling with energy queues and supply shortfalls.
He credited the performance to the OSS platform, introduced under the directive of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola. The system, which Dantsoho likened to the National Single Window initiative, is designed to bring all agencies and private operators at the Dangote Refinery terminal into a single, coordinated operational framework.
“This system operates similarly to the National Single Window, ensuring efficiency and coordination,” he said, adding that all stakeholders now operate in sync with the refinery’s distribution architecture.
The statement was issued by the NPA’s General Manager for Corporate Communications and Strategy, Mr Ikechukwu Onyemekara.
The March export figures signal a significant step in Nigeria’s ambition to transition from a petroleum-importing nation to a regional supplier — with the country’s port infrastructure and maritime logistics increasingly positioned at the centre of that shift.
MARITIME TRADE & SHIPPING
After 34 Years of Statelessness, Somalia Registers Its First Flag Vessel — A Warning Signal for African Maritime Sovereignty
After 34 Years of Statelessness, Somalia Registers Its First Flag Vessel — A Warning Signal for African Maritime Sovereignty
By Isaac Abekpe
Somalia has officially registered its first nationally flagged vessel since the collapse of its central government in 1991, in what Mogadishu is calling a landmark step toward reclaiming maritime authority over the longest coastline on mainland Africa.
The vessel, named Guney, completed all required legal and regulatory processes before departing Mogadishu under the Somali flag — the first time in over three decades that a vessel has done so under internationally recognised procedures, according to the country’s Ministry of Ports and Maritime Transport.
The registration was made possible through a memorandum of understanding between the ministry and Somali Ship Register Limited, whose general manager Çağdaş Oykun Saltaş signed the agreement alongside Ports and Maritime Transport Minister Abdulqadir Mohamed Nur.
“Today marks an important moment that demonstrates Somalia’s return to its rightful place in international shipping,” Nur said at the announcement ceremony in Mogadishu.
The development carries significant weight for the broader African maritime community. Somalia’s coastline, stretching over 3,300 kilometres, remained effectively ungoverned for decades after state institutions crumbled in the early 1990s. The resulting maritime vacuum bred some of the most disruptive piracy in modern shipping history, with attacks on commercial vessels in the western Indian Ocean plaguing global trade routes well into the 2010s.
For a continent where maritime sovereignty remains a live and often contested issue — and where nations like Nigeria continue to push for stronger indigenous participation in shipping — Somalia’s tentative reassertion of flag state authority offers both a cautionary tale and a model of renewal.
Got a maritime story from across Africa? Reach Waterways News at waterwaysnews.ng
-
Oil and Gas4 weeks agoTantita’s Pipeline Deal: $144m Contract, Rising Output, and the Questions that Deserve Answers
-
Blue Economy2 months agoNigeria’s Coast Guard Bill: A Solution in Search of a Problem?
-
Business1 month agoCASABLANCA PORT SHUT DOWN AFTER VESSEL LOSES 85 CONTAINERS — SHIP SERVES NIGERIAN ROUTES