Maritime Security and Safety
Navy Courts Global Defence Firm in Push to Build Ships at Home
Navy Courts Global Defence Firm in Push to Build Ships at Home
Okeoghene Onoriobe
The Nigerian Navy is stepping up its drive to develop a self-sustaining shipbuilding industry, opening talks with Turkish-Nigerian defence technology company ASELSAN Nigeria Limited in what could prove a landmark partnership for Nigeria’s maritime industrial ambitions.
Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, received ASELSAN Nigeria’s Managing Director, Amadou Thiam, at Naval Headquarters in Abuja this week, with both sides signalling strong appetite for a structured, long-term collaboration.
At the heart of the discussions is a push for genuine technology transfer — not just the supply of equipment — and the cultivation of local Nigerian expertise in naval platform construction and maintenance.
Abbas described the engagement as timely and strategic, reiterating that the Navy remains committed to collaborations that deliver tangible benefits to Nigeria’s defence industrial base. He stressed the importance of structured partnerships, particularly through government-to-government frameworks, to ensure transparency and alignment with national security priorities.
For Waterways News readers tracking the slow but steady emergence of Nigeria’s indigenous shipbuilding sector, the meeting carries particular significance. The ASELSAN delegation visited Naval Dockyard Limited, where construction of Seaward Defence Boats is currently ongoing — a facility that has increasingly become the proving ground for Nigeria’s ambition to build, not just buy, its naval vessels.
Thiam expressed ASELSAN’s readiness to establish a long-term partnership through joint ventures and collaboration with indigenous shipyards, highlighting the company’s expertise in unmanned systems, infrared search and track systems, integrated combat solutions, and the modernisation of naval platforms.
The timing of the engagement aligns with a broader Navy strategy that has been building momentum over the past few years. The Nigerian Navy’s Strategic Directive 2021–2030 sets an ambitious target of achieving at least 60% local shipbuilding capability by 2030, with the explicit goal of reducing dependence on foreign suppliers.
That target has looked increasingly credible. The Naval Dockyard Limited has been actively involved in constructing Seaward Defence Boats and providing maintenance and repair services, even for naval vessels from neighbouring countries such as Benin Republic — underscoring its growing regional relevance.
The case for building domestically goes beyond economics. Abbas noted that effective partnerships would not only improve operational readiness but also stimulate the growth of Nigeria’s local shipbuilding industry, creating long-term benefits for both national security and economic development.
Nigeria’s reliance on foreign-built platforms has long been a vulnerability — procurement delays, foreign exchange pressures, and geopolitical uncertainties have all disrupted naval modernisation efforts in the past. A credible domestic shipbuilding capability would insulate the Navy from many of these risks.
The ASELSAN approach, if it progresses to a formal agreement, could represent a model for how Nigeria structures future defence partnerships — demanding knowledge and capacity transfer rather than simply accepting off-the-shelf solutions. The engagement aligns with the Navy’s strategic objective of fostering partnerships that support technology transfer, sustainable capability growth, and the development of local defence production.
For Nigeria’s waterways and maritime economy — where approximately 70 per cent of the country’s economic growth is linked to its waterways — a stronger, more self-reliant naval industrial base is not merely a military matter. It is an economic imperative.
Waterways News will continue to track developments in Nigeria’s indigenous shipbuilding programme.