Maritime Security and Safety
CMA CGM Vessel Hit in Strait of Hormuz as U.S.-Iran Tensions Choke Global Shipping
CMA CGM Vessel Hit in Strait of Hormuz as U.S.-Iran Tensions Choke Global Shipping
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News Reporter | May 7, 2026
A container vessel operated by French shipping giant CMA CGM came under attack while navigating the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, leaving eight seafarers wounded and the ship damaged, in the latest incident to rattle international maritime trade amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict.
The vessel, identified as the CMA CGM San Antonio, was struck during its transit of the strategically critical waterway. Injured crew members were subsequently evacuated and taken for medical attention. CMA CGM, ranked among the world’s three largest container shipping lines, confirmed the incident on Wednesday but offered no further details.
The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) said the attack on the San Antonio represented the 32nd such incident recorded since hostilities broke out — a grim milestone that underscores the mounting danger facing commercial mariners in the region.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 per cent of global oil trade passes, has become one of the world’s most hazardous shipping corridors since the conflict erupted, leaving hundreds of vessels stranded and severely disrupting supply chains.
In a bid to restore safe passage, Washington launched an escort operation on Monday that enabled two U.S.-flagged vessels to exit the Gulf. However, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the effort would be temporarily suspended to allow diplomatic talks to proceed. Sources indicated on Wednesday that Washington and Tehran were moving closer to an initial agreement that could bring the conflict to an end.
Iran, for its part, released a revised map expanding the zone within the Strait of Hormuz it considers under its control, according to state media — a move likely to fuel further anxiety among shipowners and operators.
The developments carry significant implications for Nigeria and other import-dependent African nations, as prolonged disruption to Hormuz shipping routes continues to exert upward pressure on freight rates and fuel costs globally.
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Borno Governor Zulum Moves to Unlock Baga–Chad Republic Waterway, Etes Revival of Lake Chad Trade Corridor
Borno Governor Zulum Moves to Unlock Baga–Chad Republic Waterway, Etes Revival of Lake Chad Trade Corridor
By Oghenewoke Osaweren | Waterways News Reporter
For the communities that once thrived on the waters linking Baga to the Republic of Chad, the Lake Chad Basin was not merely geography — it was livelihood, culture, and commerce. Now, after years of insurgent-imposed silence on those waterways, Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, is pushing to reclaim them.
Zulum paid a working visit to Baga town in northern Borno on Saturday, convening a high-level security summit with Nigerian military commanders in Baga and nearby Kukawa — a meeting squarely focused on unlocking the water corridor that once connected Nigeria’s northeast to the Chad Republic across Lake Chad.
“Our visit to Baga was to interface with the Nigerian military to discuss the modalities for clearing waterways from Baga to the Republic of Chad,” the governor told journalists after the closed-door session. “We have discussed many issues, and insha Allah, the clearance exercise will resume very soon. The governments of Chad and Nigeria are working together to determine how commodities will move between the two countries.”
The significance of that statement should not be lost on Nigeria’s maritime and inland waterway stakeholders. Before the Boko Haram crisis, generations of boat operators contributed to a flourishing formal and informal economy built on the movement of people and goods across Lake Chad — a network that made the Lake Chad Basin a sub-regional trade hub. Every week, canoes laden with smoked fish, corn, wheat, cow and camel hides would depart from Bol and Baga Sola in Chad toward Baga Kawa in Nigeria, which served as a critical commercial gateway for fishing, agricultural, and livestock products moving deeper into the country.
The cessation of that transport has driven up the price of basic commodities, forced some trade routes to be rerouted through Niger or Cameroon, and devastated the economies of lakeside towns — particularly Bol and Baga Sola on the Chadian side, which had largely depended on cross-lake commerce with Nigeria.
Saturday’s engagement forms part of a broader, accelerating push by the Zulum administration to restore that economic artery. The Borno State Government, in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy and with backing from the Government of the Lake Chad Province and other regional partners, has already flagged off the dredging of the Lake Chad waterways at the Baga Fish Dam — a project designed to restore the region’s historic economic relevance after years of insecurity and environmental decline.
A recent inspection of the International Lake Chad water route in Doron Baga, Kukawa Local Government, confirmed measurable progress on the clearance of shrubs along the route, with state officials expressing confidence that the project would soon enable farmers to resume cultivation of crops including wheat, onion, and maize, while also reviving fishing activities that once sustained entire communities.
The waterway revival effort is being pursued on two diplomatic tracks simultaneously. Zulum has announced plans for a personal visit to N’Djamena to meet with Chadian President Mahamat Idris Déby Itno to discuss the restoration of waterway transport between Baga and Chad, alongside coordinating with chambers of commerce in both Chad and northeastern Nigeria to bolster cross-border economic partnerships.
Crucially, the Baga–Chad water route does not operate in isolation from the wider ecological crisis threatening the entire region. Lake Chad straddles the intersection of Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger, and while it historically ranked among the largest lakes in Africa, its surface area — once as vast as 17,800 square kilometres — had shrunk to approximately 1,500 square kilometres in the early 21st century, compounding the threat to regional trade and food security.
Beyond the waterway negotiations, the governor used the Baga visit to assess infrastructure projects in Kukawa town — inspecting ongoing construction at a General Hospital, a Mega Primary School, and the High Islamic College, which integrates Islamic and Western curricula to provide alternative educational pathways for out-of-school children and Almajiri pupils, qualifying graduates for entry into universities and polytechnics across Nigeria.
An agricultural support package was also announced, with the state government committing to distribute farming tools, implements, and improved seedlings to local farmers and returning fishing communities — a measure that signals the administration is preparing the population to productively fill the economic space that a reopened waterway would create.
For Nigeria’s inland waterway sector, Baga represents one of the starkest illustrations of what insecurity costs a nation in suppressed trade and severed connectivity. The Borno governor’s sustained engagement — military, diplomatic, and developmental — suggests that at least at the state level, the political will to reverse that loss is real and growing.
Waterways News covers Nigeria’s maritime, ports, and inland waterway sector.
IOM Brings 182 Nigerians Home From Libya as Migrants Crises Deepens
EU-funded operation lands at Lagos airport; agency discloses over 65,700 Nigerians rescued in nine years
By Oghenewoke Osaweren | Waterways News | Lagos
Another planeload of Nigerian citizens trapped in the turbulent migration corridors of North Africa has touched down on home soil, as the United Nations migration agency moves to contain the steady haemorrhage of lives along one of the world’s most dangerous irregular migration routes.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), working in close collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria, facilitated the return of 182 Nigerian migrants from Libya under its Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programme — an operation funded by the European Union. The returnees arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, aboard a charter flight from Benghazi.
Among those brought back were two unaccompanied children, underlining the extreme vulnerability of those who fall into Libya’s treacherous migration networks. The returnees were received jointly by IOM officials and representatives of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Speaking at the airport, the IOM said many of the migrants had endured difficult conditions in Libya, including detention, exploitation, abuse, and prolonged uncertainty while attempting to reach Europe and other destinations through irregular routes.
The latest evacuation is not an isolated incident but part of a crisis that has quietly consumed thousands of Nigerian lives over the past decade. IOM data shows that more than 65,500 stranded Nigerian migrants have been assisted in returning home from Libya and other transit countries over the past nine years, while over 30,000 returnees have benefited from psychological, social, and economic reintegration support programmes.
The scope of the humanitarian challenge was thrown into sharper relief in January this year, when IOM deployed emergency teams to Eastern Libya after Libyan authorities shut down an illegal detention site in Ajdabiya, freeing 195 migrants and recovering 21 bodies from a nearby burial ground. Investigations revealed that victims had been held in captivity and subjected to torture to extract ransom payments from their families.
In a separate incident in Kufra, security forces uncovered an underground detention facility dug three metres below ground, where 221 migrants and refugees — including women, children, and an infant of just one month — were found alive. At least ten people required urgent hospital care.
IOM’s Chief of Mission in Libya, Nicoletta Giordano, described the discoveries as deeply alarming. “These shocking cases highlight the severe risks faced by migrants who fall prey to criminal networks operating along migration routes,” she said, adding that the abuses uncovered in both Ajdabiya and Kufra underscore the urgent need to strengthen protection mechanisms, combat trafficking and smuggling, and push for accountability for perpetrators.
The IOM has reiterated its commitment to promoting safe and legal migration pathways while pressing for greater public awareness and responsible media coverage of migration issues.
The Federal Government has equally stepped up its warnings. In May 2026, Abuja cautioned Nigerians against travelling abroad without valid travel documents, while the Nigeria Immigration Service issued a public advisory stressing that irregular migration is illegal and exposes individuals to grave dangers, warning that all international travel must be conducted with valid passports, visas where required, and other approved immigration documents.
For Waterways News readers, the story carries a particular resonance. A significant proportion of Nigerians who attempt the Libya route are from coastal and riverine communities across the Niger Delta and South-South zones — many drawn by promises of maritime labour opportunities in Europe, only to find themselves ensnared by traffickers long before they ever see open sea.
IOM’s crisis response plan for Libya through 2026 includes expanded voluntary humanitarian return assistance, systematic monitoring of migrant deaths along both maritime and overland routes, and post-rescue humanitarian support with safe referrals to competent authorities.
As the agency continues to scale its operations, the message from both IOM and Abuja remains consistent: the journey through Libya is not a passage to opportunity — it is, for thousands of Nigerians each year, a passage to suffering.
Waterways News | Nigeria’s Maritime & Coastal News Authority.
Navy at 70: FG Pledges Tech-Driven Force to Secure Nigeria’s Waters, Grow Blue Economy
By Ighoyota Onaibre | Waterways News
The Federal Government has renewed its pledge to strengthen maritime security and accelerate the development of Nigeria’s blue economy, signalling that the Nigerian Navy will receive greater investment in modern technology and operational capacity.
Defence Minister Gen. Christopher Musa made the declaration on Friday as Special Guest of Honour at the Nigerian Navy’s 70th Anniversary Ceremonial Sunset Dinner and Awards, held in Lagos — the climax of a week-long series of events commemorating seven decades of naval service to the nation.
Speaking through a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Leah Katung-Babatunde, Gen. Musa said the administration of President Bola Tinubu remained determined to equip the Navy with the resources and enabling environment needed to build a modern, technology-driven force capable of defending Nigeria’s vast maritime interests.
The minister identified advanced surveillance systems, unmanned technologies, cyber defence tools, intelligence capabilities, and data-driven operations as priority areas for the Navy’s transformation — tools he said were essential to staying ahead of evolving threats across Nigeria’s waterways and offshore zones.
“The future of the Nigerian Navy lies in its ability to harness cutting-edge technology and strengthen collaboration with regional and international partners,” Musa stated. “A modern, technology-driven navy will enhance maritime domain awareness, improve operational effectiveness, and contribute significantly to collective security in the Gulf of Guinea and beyond.”
For operators and stakeholders in Nigeria’s inland and coastal waterways sector, the minister’s remarks carry direct significance. He acknowledged that the Navy’s day-to-day operations have a tangible impact on the blue economy by protecting sea lanes, offshore oil and gas infrastructure, and other critical maritime assets — including the waterways corridors upon which millions of Nigerians depend for transport and trade.
Musa also stressed that combating piracy, crude oil theft, illegal fishing, and sundry maritime crimes remained central to the service’s mandate, and that the Navy’s support to other security agencies had been vital in maintaining the stability required for economic activity to thrive.
“Through active participation in internal security operations and support to sister services and security agencies, the Navy has played a vital role in maintaining peace and stability, thereby creating the secure environment necessary for economic growth and national development,” he said.
The minister commended Chief of Naval Staff and the service’s officers, ratings, and civilian staff for their professionalism and resilience over the past seven decades, describing the Navy as a model of organisational excellence. He also extended appreciation to Nigeria’s international partners for their continued support in advancing maritime security and regional stability.
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