Blue Economy
Dantsoho’s Eastern Ports Revolution: Transforming Nigeria’s Maritime Landscape for Economic Diversification
Dantsoho’s Eastern Ports Revolution: Transforming Nigeria’s Maritime Landscape for Economic Diversification
The Nigerian Ports Authority MD is spearheading a comprehensive strategy to revitalize eastern ports, breaking Lagos’ decades-long dominance while positioning Nigeria as a key player in African maritime trade.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) under Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho’s leadership is orchestrating a fundamental shift in Nigeria’s maritime operations, transforming long-neglected eastern ports into competitive gateways that could reshape the nation’s economic future.
For decades, Nigeria’s maritime story was simple: Lagos first, everywhere else second. The eastern ports of Port Harcourt, Onne, Warri, and Calabar remained underutilized despite their strategic proximity to key industrial clusters and resource corridors. While Lagos absorbed over 90% of maritime traffic, eastern facilities operated below a third of their capacity, hamstrung by weak infrastructure and limited connectivity.
Today, that narrative is changing dramatically.
Dantsoho’s hands-on approach has begun yielding tangible results. His investment-focused tours across eastern ports have generated significant expressions of interest for Rivers, Calabar, and Burutu ports. A milestone moment came on July 31, 2025, when the wholly Nigerian-owned MV Ocean Dragon made its celebrated call at Onne’s West African Container Terminal (WACT).
The vessel, with its 349 TEU capacity, will ply routes across West, Central, and Southern Africa, embodying the federal government’s “Nigeria First” policy and establishing Nigeria as a formidable player in intra-African trade.
This repositioning offers shippers compelling advantages: reduced turnaround times, closer access to South-East and North-Central industrial clusters, lower transportation costs, and more efficient movement of agricultural and mineral products. These benefits align perfectly with Nigeria’s deeper participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) regime.
The NPA introduced revised tariffs effective March 1, 2025, balancing operational costs with competitiveness while advancing the Authority’s 25-year master plan. This plan emphasizes automation, cybersecurity, and sustainability, including a proposed “Green Craft Acquisition Fund” for IMO-compliant vessels.
Strategic partnerships are driving unprecedented growth. Hapag-Lloyd’s weekly service at Onne now connects Eastern Nigeria to global routes, enhancing transshipment opportunities under AfCFTA. Collaborations with the Nigeria Customs Service for 24-hour operations aim to reduce cargo release times and prevent diversions to neighboring ports.
The results speak volumes. Service boat Gross Registered Tonnage rose 129.3% to 4.58 million tons in 2024. Eastern ports now accommodate larger vessels safely, with stakeholders like Indorama reporting significantly higher export tonnages.
The NPA has secured $1.1 billion for comprehensive rehabilitation across eastern ports. At Onne Port Complex, a Public-Private Partnership with WACT Nigeria Limited has advanced Terminal ‘B’ expansion to 62% completion, with over $110 million invested. This upgrade forms part of a broader $2.9 billion Onne Port Expansion Phase 4B project—Africa’s largest port investment over the past decade.
Key infrastructure projects include road network integration at Onne’s Berths 9-11, authority-wide installation of marine fenders, and surveys for shore protection at Escravos breakwaters in Warri. Channel dredging and rehabilitation continue at Warri, Onne, and Calabar to accommodate larger vessels, with draught depths targeted at 11 meters for Onne and Calabar.
Beyond infrastructure, the NPA is central to the federal government’s economic diversification through sustainable blue economy ventures. Ship building, repairs, and dry dock activities are attracting significant attention and investment.
Engr. Greg Ogbeifun, founder of Starz Marine and Engineering Limited in Rivers State, recently disclosed Afrexim Bank’s commitment of a $350 million loan to facilitate shipbuilding and yard expansion. This investment will expand Starz’s shipyard from 500 tons to 10,000-ton lifting capacity, providing quality ship repair and building services previously unavailable locally.
The NPA has acquired state-of-the-art harbor craft, including two 80-tonne Bollard Pull tugboats (M.T. Maikoko and M.T. Da-Opukuro)—the first of their kind in Africa. These vessels have eliminated berthing and sailing delays, contributing to an average vessel turnaround time of 5.16 days.
The Electronic Call-up (Eto) system and Export Processing Terminals have streamlined operations, boosting export volumes by 60% in some terminals. The opening of ‘Road D’ at Onne has alleviated logistics bottlenecks, earning commendations from truckers and supporting multimodal transport aligned with International Association for Ports and Harbours standards.
The transformation is already reflected in financial projections. The NPA anticipates N1.28 trillion in revenue for 2025, up from N894.86 billion in 2024, with eastern port development contributing significantly to this projected increase.
New incentive regimes encourage patronage of non-Lagos ports, including discounts and streamlined processes for eastern corridors. These align with the federal government’s infrastructure modernization, operational efficiency, and indigenous participation emphasis in the maritime sector.
The impact extends beyond ports to regional economies. Manufacturers in Aba, traders in Onitsha, and industrial clusters in Nnewi can now route cargo through nearby eastern ports, saving substantial time and costs. This transformation positions Onne to strengthen its dominance as the Gulf of Guinea’s offshore logistics hub while establishing Port Harcourt and Calabar as vital lifelines to South-East Nigeria and Central Africa.
Under Marine & Blue Economy Minister Adegboyega Oyetola’s supervision, these comprehensive efforts promise sustained ease of doing business and blue economy optimization. As transshipment figures rise and trade surpluses grow, the eastern ports are positioned for increased vessel traffic and investment, contributing to Nigeria’s maritime renaissance.
Dr. Dantsoho’s extensive experience—from youth corps service to rising through NPA ranks—has positioned him as President Tinubu’s most seasoned maritime appointee. His leadership is creating an enabling environment for unfettered growth in Nigeria’s blue economy ecosystem, potentially establishing Nigeria as West and Central Africa’s leading maritime nation.
The eastern ports transformation represents more than infrastructure development; it’s a strategic repositioning that could fundamentally alter Nigeria’s economic geography and maritime influence across Africa.
Oyetola Woos Turkish Investors for Fisheries Sector, Vows to Protect Artisanal Fishers
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, has thrown Nigeria’s fisheries sector open to Turkish investment, insisting that any fresh capital coming into the industry must strengthen and not sideline the millions of Nigerians who depend on artisanal fishing for a living.
Oyetola made the pledge while receiving a delegation from Turkish fisheries and aquaculture firm CRD Impex, led by the company’s General Manager for Fisheries, Cem Tarhan, at his Abuja office. He told the investors the Federal Government was ready to create an investment-friendly climate for credible local and foreign players willing to bring capital, technology and modern value-chain solutions to the sector, on condition that such investment remains inclusive.
“We welcome investors who can bring capital, technology, expertise and modern value-chain solutions to the sector. However, investment must be inclusive and sustainable. It must complement and empower our artisanal fish producers, not undermine their livelihoods,” the Minister said
He listed inadequate infrastructure, poor access to modern fishing technology, weak cold-chain systems, limited processing and storage capacity, and gaps in market access as the major constraints holding back the sector, framing each as an opening for targeted investment rather than a dead end.
The Turkish team, which included CRD Impex founder Hanefi Cardak and Tetra Underwater Services founder Ersun Buyukgoze, toured key fisheries and aquaculture points around the country to size up the terrain first-hand. Stops included the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal in Lagos, the Ozumba Mbadiwe Fish Market in Lekki, and the Esuk Nsidung Beach Market, a major waterfront seafood hub in Calabar, Cross River State.
The Ministry described the visit as part of a broader push to attract serious investment into Nigeria’s blue economy while keeping the welfare of artisanal fishers central to that growth.
Nigeria Watch
The Turkish courtesy call lands squarely in the pattern this desk has tracked all year: big-ticket investment pledges for Nigeria’s waterways, paired with familiar assurances that the small operator won’t be crowded out. The test, as always, is what happens after the photo-op.
Nigeria’s artisanal fishing communities occupy the same economic space as the informal boat operators represented by WABOTAN and ATBOWATON, river- and creek-dependent Nigerians whose livelihoods rise or fall on decisions made far from the waterfront. The infrastructure gaps Oyetola cited which include, weak cold-chain systems, poor storage and limited market access, all mirror the exact complaints this desk has documented from inland waterway operators for years but modernisation announced from Abuja rarely reache the jetties.
Turkish capital chasing Nigerian fisheries and aquaculture is a genuinely new thread, distinct from the Strait of Hormuz shipping story or the CVFF disbursement saga this desk has followed closely. But the underlying question is the same one that has defined Oyetola’s tenure at the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy: will “inclusive investment” translate into contracts, cooperative partnerships and cold-chain infrastructure that artisanal operators can actually use or will it, like so many blue-economy pledges before it, stall at the courtesy-visit stage?
Waterways News will be watching for the first concrete CRD Impex commitment — site, timeline, or local partnership — as the marker of whether this one is different.
NPERA, NPA Open Technical Talks on Handover of Inland Dry Port Functions
By Ighoyota Onaibre | Waterways News
The Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have begun formal engagement on transferring inland dry port oversight to NPERA, marking the start of what both agencies describe as a critical phase in operationalising Nigeria’s new port regulatory framework.
At a management-level meeting between the two agencies, officials focused on the technical groundwork for the handover, chiefly how to draw clear lines of responsibility and avoid duplication among the government bodies with a stake in inland dry port administration.
NPERA’s Director-General/CEO, Dr Akutah Pius, framed the transition as flowing directly from the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, whom he credited with steering the process toward the sector’s broader development. Akutah was emphatic that NPERA could not carry out the transfer alone, and said the buy-in of every relevant stakeholder agency would be needed to see it through.
He indicated that the Ministry would stay central to coordinating the process even as specific mandates move to the agencies best placed to execute them. Akutah also pointed to the Minister’s earlier interventions during the NPERA Bill’s passage through the National Assembly, which he said had defused inter-agency friction and set the stage for the cooperation now underway.
Describing the purpose of the meeting, Akutah said it was meant to formally kick off the transfer of inland dry port responsibilities to NPERA in fulfilment of its statutory role as economic regulator of the ports sector. He singled out Section 51 of the NPERA Act as a provision that now needs to be put into practical effect to keep the transition orderly and ensure stakeholder roles are properly aligned.
To manage the process going forward, the NPERA boss proposed setting up a joint committee drawing in NPERA, NPA, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy. He argued that inland dry ports matter well beyond the coastline. They extend maritime sector benefits into Nigeria’s hinterland and reinforce the country’s trade and logistics chain.
Responding on behalf of NPA, Managing Director Dr Abubakar Dantsoho welcomed the move and pledged his agency’s full operational and technical backing throughout the transition. He said the process had started on the right footing, and that NPA would furnish updated data on the current state of inland dry ports to inform further discussions, expressing confidence that continued engagement would help the agencies meet their shared objectives.
NPA’s Executive Director, Engr. Lekan Badmus, also commended NPERA for setting the collaboration in motion, calling the meeting a solid first step toward a smooth integration. He noted the two agencies have now moved into the technical phase of the exercise, with close attention being paid to eliminating overlapping functions.
Closing the meeting, Akutah said the proposed joint committee would reconvene with the Minister to seek further guidance and agree on next steps to keep the transition on track.
Nigeria Watch
This meeting is the first visible test of whether the NPERA Act’s promise of a rationalised port regulatory architecture can survive contact with Nigeria’s crowded agency landscape. Section 51’s transfer of inland dry port functions to NPERA looks straightforward on paper; in practice, it touches NPA’s traditional port administration turf, NIWA’s inland waterways mandate, and the Ministry’s coordinating role all at once, precisely the kind of overlapping jurisdiction that has bedevilled reform efforts elsewhere in the sector, most visibly in the long-running NIWA-LASWA tussle that only the Supreme Court could settle.
The proposed joint committee of NPERA, NPA, NIWA, and the Ministry, is a sensible mechanism, but Waterways News readers who have followed the CVFF disbursement saga know that Nigerian maritime governance has no shortage of well-designed committees whose outputs never quite reach implementation. What will matter is whether Akutah’s “technical phase” produces a binding timeline, not another round of goodwill statements.
For inland dry port operators and the hinterland trade corridors that depend on them, the stakes are practical: unclear jurisdiction between NPA and NPERA has historically meant slower cargo evacuation, duplicated levies, and uncertainty for freight forwarders planning routes away from the congested Lagos ports. If this transition is handled well, it strengthens the case for dry ports as genuine pressure valves for Apapa and Tin Can. If it stalls in inter-agency turf negotiation, it becomes one more entry in the gap between policy pronouncement and delivery that this desk continues to track.
Worth watching: whether Minister Oyetola’s office sets an explicit deadline when the committee reconvenes, and whether NIWA, whose inland waterways mandate intersects with dry port hinterland connectivity, gets more than a seat at the table.
Two More Tankers Struck in Strait of Hormuz as Attack Count Hits Five in a Week
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
Two more tankers have been hit while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, leaving two seafarers with minor injuries and pushing the number of reported attacks or security incidents against commercial vessels in the waterway to at least five since 16 September.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said an inbound tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile on Monday. Two crew members sustained minor injuries, but the vessel stayed under its own power and continued to its next port, with no environmental impact reported.
Hours later, UKMTO issued a second alert after an outbound LPG tanker reported being struck by debris from unknown projectiles. All crew were reported safe and the vessel also continued its voyage. Authorities are investigating both incidents, and UKMTO has not attributed either attack to a specific actor.
The two strikes build on a Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) advisory covering three earlier attacks between 16 and 18 September, one of which saw a tanker’s hull breached by a projectile, sparking a fire. JMIC continues to rate the threat level in the strait as “severe,” citing a high likelihood of deliberate hostile action and pointing to a pattern of harassment by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — drone overflights, surveillance of merchant vessels and VHF hailing, alongside the direct attacks.
Traffic through the chokepoint remains sharply depressed. Only 17 commodity vessels were visibly transiting over the weekend, down from 37 the week before and against a pre-war daily average of roughly 125. That figure excludes vessels sailing with their AIS transponders switched off, and JMIC notes a persistent gap between visible and actual traffic.
Nigeria Watch
For Nigerian maritime stakeholders, the Hormuz crisis is no longer a distant Gulf story. It is a cost line. Every fresh escalation feeds directly into the war-risk insurance premiums and freight rates that Nigerian importers, refiners and shipping agents ultimately absorb, since global tanker and container capacity pulled off the Hormuz route tightens supply elsewhere and pushes rates up across long-haul trades, including those serving West African ports.
The renewed attacks also sharpen the stakes around Nigeria’s push for a stronger voice at the IMO Council table and its broader blue-economy diplomacy under Minister Adegboyega Oyetola. A sustained Gulf disruption is exactly the kind of systemic shock that tests whether Nigeria’s seat translates into influence over how global shipping risk, insurance and rerouting decisions are made, rather than Nigeria simply absorbing the downstream cost.
Locally, the episode is a reminder of the layered nature of “maritime security” as a policy word: the Deep Blue Project and Gulf of Guinea security architecture address piracy and armed robbery close to home, but Nigeria’s ports and shippers remain exposed to security failures thousands of kilometres away in the Gulf.
Waterways News will continue tracking how the Hormuz situation feeds into freight cost pressure at Nigerian ports and NIMASA’s public messaging on the issue.
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