Business
CASABLANCA PORT SHUT DOWN AFTER VESSEL LOSES 85 CONTAINERS — SHIP SERVES NIGERIAN ROUTES
CASABLANCA PORT SHUT DOWN AFTER VESSEL LOSES 85 CONTAINERS — SHIP SERVES NIGERIAN ROUTES
Port authorities in Morocco have suspended all vessel movements at the Port of Casablanca following a container overboard incident involving a ship that regularly calls at Nigerian ports.
Morocco’s National Ports Agency ordered the suspension at approximately 11:00 PM local time on Thursday, February 26, after the containership Ionikos lost an estimated 85 containers into the water near the harbour entrance while departing the port in heavy seas.
As of Friday, operations at one of Africa’s busiest container ports remained halted, with numerous boxes still reported floating in the channel, posing serious navigational hazards.
The Ionikos — a 52,427-deadweight-tonne vessel owned by Greek shipping interests and registered under the Liberian flag — is of particular interest to Nigerian shippers and port stakeholders. The ship operates on a service connecting Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean with ports in the Gulf of Guinea, including regular calls at Nigerian terminals and other West African destinations.
According to initial reports, the vessel had completed cargo operations in Casablanca and was bound for Barcelona when it encountered heavy swells on departure. The rough sea conditions caused the ship to roll violently, sending an estimated 85 containers overboard.
The Ionikos, built in 2009, measures 258 metres in length and has a capacity of 4,360 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). The vessel is currently anchored approximately six nautical miles offshore as authorities assess the damage and coordinate recovery efforts.
An overnight search and recovery operation was launched involving five vessels from Morocco’s Royal Maritime Gendarmerie and Royal Navy, alongside helicopter aerial support. Officials noted that darkness hampered early efforts to locate and secure the drifting containers. Tugboats have since been stationed near several floating units to prevent further hazards to passing traffic.
Local media in Morocco reported that the lost containers were carrying a range of cargo, including car parts, furniture, and consumer goods. At least one container is reported to have broken open and washed ashore on a nearby beach, where boxes of Nestlé-branded cereal were found scattered.
The incident compounds operational difficulties already affecting the port this winter. Reports indicate that a series of storms and persistent Atlantic swells have disrupted maritime traffic at Casablanca in recent months.
Port authorities said vessel movements would resume only when conditions in the harbour channel are deemed safe for navigation.
The disruption is being monitored closely by Nigerian shipping agents and cargo interests given the vessel’s regular Gulf of Guinea service schedule. Waterways News NG will provide updates as the situation develops.
— Waterways News NG | www.waterwaysnews.ng
NIMASA, Liberia Forge Closer Maritime Ties, Eye Sea-Time Training for African Youths
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News Correspondent
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has signalled renewed determination to deepen inter-African maritime cooperation, following a high-level consultative visit by the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Liberia in Lagos, Mr. Dapo Akinosun, SAN, to the Agency’s Lagos headquarters.
Receiving the envoy, NIMASA Director General Dr. Dayo Mobereola described the engagement as a reflection of the enduring bilateral maritime relationship between Nigeria and Liberia, and called for accelerated continent-wide collaboration to unlock Africa’s vast maritime potential.
Capacity, Youth and the Blue Economy
Dr. Mobereola placed particular emphasis on the urgent need to expand sea-time training and practical maritime exposure for African youth, arguing that structured capacity development programmes could position Nigerian and other African seafarers to compete credibly in the global maritime labour market.
“The time has come for African nations to upscale maritime collaboration. The partnership between Nigeria and Liberia will help us build capacity, strengthen regional cooperation, and create opportunities for African youths within the global maritime industry,” the NIMASA DG stated.
He added that maritime capacity must be built beyond national borders, noting that hands-on sea-time experience remains the critical bridge between classroom training and international competitiveness.
IMO Seat and Diplomatic Goodwill
Dr. Mobereola also used the occasion to acknowledge Liberia’s support for Nigeria’s successful campaign for a Category C seat at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), describing the backing as a demonstration of the productive diplomatic and technical relationship both countries have sustained over the years.
Liberia’s Position
Consul Akinosun, for his part, said the visit was designed to reinforce bilateral maritime ties and explore concrete pathways for expanded cooperation across maritime administration, port safety, and trade facilitation. He commended NIMASA’s management for recent reform efforts and pledged Liberia’s readiness for deeper engagement.
“Nigeria has demonstrated genuine commitment to maritime partnership and regional growth. Liberia looks forward to deeper collaboration with NIMASA in maritime administration, safety, capacity development, and trade promotion for the advancement of Africa’s Blue Economy,” Akinosun said.
Also present at the meeting were NIMASA Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Service, Mr. Jibril Abba; Director of Reforms Coordination and Strategic Management/Blue Economy Unit, Mrs. Nneka Obianyor; and Mr. Kehinde Ogundimu, Head of the Media Department at the Liberian Consulate in Lagos.
Nigeria Watch: Why This Bilateral Engagement Matters Beyond the Handshake
Diplomatic courtesy visits between maritime regulators and foreign consuls are often dismissed as ceremonial. The NIMASA-Liberia engagement this week, however, carries layered significance that warrants closer reading — particularly for Nigerian shipping stakeholders tracking the Agency’s strategic direction under Dr. Mobereola.
The IMO Dimension
Nigeria’s Category C seat at the International Maritime Organization is not merely a prestige acquisition. It translates into real influence over the rule-setting architecture that governs flag state responsibilities, port state control regimes, and the international conventions under which Nigerian-flagged vessels trade and Nigerian ports are assessed. Liberia’s support for Nigeria’s IMO bid was not incidental — Liberia is one of the world’s largest open registries, operating a flag state of enormous commercial weight through its Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry (LISCR). When a registry of that scale backs Nigeria’s multilateral ambitions, it signals mutual interest in shaping how African maritime governance is represented at the global table. Nigeria would do well to translate that goodwill into substantive co-sponsorship of positions at IMO sessions, particularly on issues affecting Gulf of Guinea security, seafarer certification equivalences, and the decarbonisation transition costs borne disproportionately by developing maritime states.
The Seafarer Supply Chain Gap
Dr. Mobereola’s emphasis on sea-time training is a pointed acknowledgement of one of the most persistent structural weaknesses in Nigeria’s maritime sector. Nigeria produces maritime academy graduates at a respectable rate across institutions such as the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) and the various state maritime schools. The bottleneck, long identified by industry insiders, lies not in classroom supply but in the availability of berths — approved vessel positions on internationally recognised ships where cadets can accumulate the documented sea service hours required for STCW certification. Liberia’s registry connections, if properly leveraged, could open pathways for Nigerian cadets to secure sea-time placements on vessels under the Liberian flag, many of which are operated by major international shipowners. This is not a novel idea, but it has never been formalised into a bilateral protocol. The Mobereola-Akinosun meeting presents an opportunity to move that conversation from aspiration to implementation.
Cabotage and Regional Trade Connectivity
Beyond the bilateral, NIMASA’s renewed push for African maritime integration fits within a broader strategic logic that Nigerian policymakers have long articulated but inconsistently executed. The Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), still largely undisbursed, was designed in part to build indigenous fleet capacity that could anchor Nigeria as a regional shipping hub. A more integrated West African maritime space — with harmonised port state control inspections, aligned seafarer certification regimes, and cooperative vessel traffic management — would increase the commercial viability of Nigerian-flagged coastal traders operating routes to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire. Until that regulatory architecture exists, the economics of regional cabotage will remain fragile. Engagements like this week’s Liberia visit are, at minimum, the diplomatic groundwork on which that architecture must eventually be built.
Business
FTAN Mobilises Private Sector Behind ‘Destination Akwa Ibom’ Push, Eyes Maritime and Coastal Assets
FTAN Mobilises Private Sector Behind ‘Destination Akwa Ibom’ Push, Eyes Maritime and Coastal Assets
Newly inaugurated state executive council to coordinate investment drive as tourism stakeholders align with Governor Eno’s ARISE Agenda
By Idongesit Akaniyene
Tourism industry stakeholders under the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) have formally launched a coordinated drive to position Akwa Ibom State as a premier tourism destination, with the private sector placed at the centre of an initiative that organisers say could help wean the state off its dependence on crude oil revenues.
The push, unveiled at Gladmann Hotel, Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo, drew participants from across FTAN’s affiliate associations and culminated in the inauguration of a 10-member State Executive Council (SEC) tasked with implementing what stakeholders are calling the “Destination Akwa Ibom” agenda.
The newly constituted council is led by Mr. Joseph Umoh as Coordinator, with Sunday Otoyo as Deputy Coordinator, Emediong Ebong as Secretary, Obonganwan Mariaterese Adiakpan as Treasurer, and Possibility Akpan as Public Relations Officer. Other members include Anthony Bassey (Welfare/Protocol), Unwong Ette (Programmes Coordinator), Edima Imara (Financial Secretary) and Idorenyin Essien.
The SEC is expected to serve as the operational engine for the initiative — coordinating stakeholders, engaging development partners, and driving investment inflows into the state’s hospitality and leisure sector.
Maritime and Coastal Assets Front and Centre
Of particular interest to Waterways News readers is the explicit recognition by FTAN stakeholders of Akwa Ibom’s maritime and coastal heritage as core tourism assets. Participants at the forum cited the Blue River in Ukanafun, the Mary Slessor historical site, and slave post locations in Ibiono Ibom and Ikot Abasi among the strategic assets capable of attracting both domestic and international visitors.
These sites sit alongside newer infrastructure investments. Among the state’s current development pipeline is the Oron Maritime Infrastructure Hub — a project that forms part of Akwa Ibom’s broader tourism and economic diversification drive. Oron, a riverine community with deep historical links to trans-Atlantic trade and colonial-era maritime commerce, represents perhaps the clearest intersection between the state’s blue economy credentials and its tourism ambitions.
Stakeholders also commended the state government’s investments in the ARISE Park, the Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort and Ibom Air as critical foundations for a sustainable tourism economy.
Alignment with ARISE Agenda
The initiative is framed as consistent with the economic diversification agenda of Governor Umo Eno and his ARISE Agenda blueprint, particularly in the areas of job creation, internally generated revenue, and human capital development. That alignment carries fiscal weight. The Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Culture and Tourism has proposed N16 billion for tourism sector reforms in the 2026 budget, with N13 billion earmarked for capital expenditure. The commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr Anieti Udofia, told the 2026 Budget Committee that the funds would focus on the development of major tourism hubs across the state, including Ikot Abasi, Itu, Mkpat Enin and Eastern Obolo local government area.
Ikot Abasi and Eastern Obolo — both waterfront communities — underscore the state government’s awareness that much of Akwa Ibom’s most compelling tourism geography is coastal and riverine.
South-South Context
The FTAN Akwa Ibom initiative sits within a broader regional push. The South-South zone — comprising Edo, Delta, Cross River, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa — is now being positioned to fully leverage its tourism potential, with FTAN’s regional executive council tasked with developing sustainable infrastructure to drive growth across the zone.
The zone’s known tourism assets include Cross River’s rainforests, Delta’s cultural festivals, and the beaches of Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom — a region described as an untapped treasure trove of opportunities.
For a maritime publication, the subtext is hard to miss: a significant proportion of that untapped value lies on or near the water.
Nigeria Watch
Akwa Ibom’s tourism offensive arrives at a moment when the blue economy framework is gaining traction across Nigerian policy circles, yet coastal and riverine tourism remains largely underfunded and under-promoted. The state’s combination of natural waterfront assets, improving aviation connectivity through Ibom Air, and now an organised private-sector advocacy structure through FTAN gives it a stronger implementation platform than most comparable coastal states.
The real test will be whether the N13 billion capital budget for tourism infrastructure translates into bankable, visitor-ready waterfront product — and whether maritime heritage sites like Oron and Ikot Abasi receive the kind of interpretive and hospitality infrastructure that converts historical significance into overnight stays and repeat visits.
Waterways News | Water Tourism Desk
Blue Economy
Agents Petition Tinubu Over Shipping Charges as SEREC Urges NSC to Balance Shipper Protection with Commercial Reality
Agents Petition Tinubu Over Shipping Charges as SEREC Urges NSC to Balance Shipper Protection with Commercial Reality
Research group warns against regulatory rigidity as customs agents accuse Shippers’ Council of bypassing MoU consultation framework
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News Correspondent
The Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC) has called on the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to act as a strategic industry stabiliser — not merely a consumer watchdog — as a simmering dispute over proposed increases in Local Shipping Charges (LSC) draws the federal government into a fresh regulatory flashpoint.
The intervention follows a formal petition sent to President Bola Tinubu by the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), dated May 14, 2026, and copied to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Senate President, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, and the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy.
The petition alleges that the NSC moved to approve new local shipping charges without first routing them through the Technical Standing Committee — the consultation body expressly established under the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) governing port and shipping charges between regulators, service providers, and users.
SEREC: The MoU Cannot Override Commercial Reality
Responding to the controversy, SEREC — in a statement signed by its Head of Research, Fwdr Eugene Nweke — acknowledged the procedural concerns raised by the agents but pushed back against what it described as a rigid interpretation of legacy agreements in an era of global cost escalation.
The research group noted that the global maritime industry has endured compounding cost pressures in recent years, including volatile foreign exchange movements, surging vessel operational costs, elevated bunker fuel prices, inflationary logistics costs, higher marine insurance premiums, and persistent supply chain disruptions.
“Nigeria cannot reasonably isolate itself from these prevailing international commercial realities,” SEREC stated.
The group argued that the NSC, in its capacity as the nation’s Port Economic Regulator, must balance its mandate to protect cargo owners against its equally important role of sustaining investment confidence across the port value chain — covering shipping companies, terminal operators, and other service providers.
SEREC urged all parties to channel the dispute through the existing Technical Standing Committee framework rather than escalate it into “adversarial regulatory confrontation.” It called for transparent cost justification, data-driven negotiations, broad stakeholder consultation, and gradual implementation where charge adjustments are warranted.
The group also urged the NSC to strengthen its communication practices whenever charge reviews are under consideration, warning that a failure to do so generates perceptions of “opacity, unilateralism or regulatory exclusion” that corrode investor confidence.
Nigeria Watch: The NSC’s Tightrope — and What’s Really at Stake
This dispute arrives at a sensitive moment for Nigeria’s port regulatory architecture. The NSC has been under the spotlight throughout 2025 and into 2026 for its handling of shipping tariffs, following earlier controversies around MSC’s revised schedule of charges — which raised import documentation fees and port additional charges for both 20-foot and 40-foot containers — and a Nigerian Shippers’ Council tariff suspension that briefly reignited industry tensions last year.
The NCMDLCA’s petition signals something broader than a procedural grievance. Customs agents and freight forwarders are increasingly concerned that the cumulative effect of charge increases — approved in rapid succession across multiple shipping lines — is creating an unmanageable cost burden on importers, with the naira’s continued depreciation compounding dollar-denominated shipping obligations at every turn.
SEREC’s intervention is notable for its balance. Unlike most industry commentary that tends to side either with shippers or with operators, the research group is making a structural argument: that the NSC’s regulatory model must evolve beyond a binary protection versus extraction framework toward one that incorporates macroeconomic realities, investment sustainability, and port competitiveness.
For Waterways News readers — port operators, freight forwarders, shipping line representatives, terminal concessionaires, and blue economy investors — the critical question is whether the Technical Standing Committee mechanism, apparently sidestepped in this instance, can be restored as the credible fulcrum of charge negotiations. If it cannot, Nigeria risks a deepening cycle of petitions, suspensions, and reversals that will deter the very investment the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is trying to attract.
The NSC has not publicly responded to the NCMDLCA petition at the time of this report.
Waterways News will continue to monitor developments in this story.
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