Blue Economy
Nigeria Eyes Return to IMO Council Amid Fierce Competition
Nigeria Eyes Return to IMO Council Amid Fierce Competition
With elections just weeks away, the country banks on maritime security gains and blue economy reforms to secure one of 20 contested seats
Nigeria faces stiff competition from 25 other countries as it campaigns for a seat on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council, with elections scheduled for November-December 2025 during the 34th IMO Assembly session.
The West African nation is vying for one of 20 available positions in Category C, which reserves seats for countries with special interests in maritime transport. Nigeria last held an IMO Council seat in 2009.
Twenty-six countries are competing for Category C seats, including five African nations: Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Morocco. Other contenders include maritime powerhouses like Singapore, Denmark, and Belgium.
Of the 26 candidates, 20 are incumbent Council members seeking re-election, while six countries—including Nigeria—are newcomers pushing for representation in the 2026/2027 term.
The imbalance in African representation has drawn concern from Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola, who noted that Africa holds just four of 40 Council seats despite comprising 25% of IMO’s membership.
“This disparity underscores the urgent need for stronger African representation in global maritime governance,” Oyetola said. “Nigeria’s candidacy reflects our commitment to bridge that gap on behalf of the continent.”
Council membership grants countries significant influence over global maritime policy, including budget approvals, regulatory priorities, and technical cooperation programmes. For West African nations, representation is crucial for addressing regional challenges like piracy, oil theft, and capacity gaps.
National Inland Waterways Authority Managing Director Bola Oyebamiji emphasized the seat’s importance for Nigeria’s regional leadership ambitions.
“The IMO seat will empower Nigeria to influence the global maritime ecosystem and position the country as a major stakeholder in shaping international maritime policies, especially in the West African sub-region,” he said.
Nigeria brings substantial maritime credentials to its campaign, including:
– 853 kilometers of coastline
– Over 10,000 kilometers of inland waterways
– Strategic location on the Gulf of Guinea
– Over 65% of West and Central African shipping traffic transiting Nigerian waters
The country has made significant strides since 2009, establishing a dedicated Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and implementing the Deep Blue Project maritime security initiative.
Nigeria’s most compelling campaign asset is its remarkable maritime security turnaround. The Deep Blue Project and the 2019 Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act have delivered zero piracy incidents in Nigerian waters.
This achievement has earned international recognition. Mohamed Dabo, Permanent Representative of Equatorial Guinea and Chair of the African Group, praised Nigeria’s “unmatched leadership role in the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.”
Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Director General Dr. Dayo Mobereola highlighted the country’s institutional reforms and expanding blue economy agenda as key differentiators.
“Our ports serve as critical gateways for trade in West and Central Africa, while our shipping industry remains one of the largest in sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.
Despite progress, several issues could undermine Nigeria’s candidacy:
Shipping Industry Weaknesses: Indigenous shipowners struggle with limited vessel financing, while the long-delayed Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund remains undisbursed, hampering local capacity development.
Training Capacity Gaps: Nigerian maritime cadets face difficulties obtaining mandatory sea time due to vessel shortages, contrasting sharply with countries like India and the Philippines that earn billions from seafarer exports.
Ongoing Security Concerns: While piracy incidents have declined dramatically, the International Maritime Bureau reported isolated cases, including armed robbery near Lagos Anchorage in 2024.
Infrastructure Deficits: Full port automation and compliance with greenhouse gas reduction measures remain incomplete, while persistent boat accidents on inland waterways continue to affect investor confidence.
Regulatory Gaps: Critics point to weaknesses in enforcement, data collection, and inter-agency coordination that could limit Nigeria’s effectiveness on technical IMO committees.
Nigeria has secured significant diplomatic backing, including endorsements from the African Group at the UN and formal support from Switzerland. South Africa’s Deputy Permanent Representative Marthinus Van Schalkwyk affirmed his country’s backing.
“Nigeria’s candidature is not only about Nigeria, but about strengthening Africa’s collective voice in global maritime affairs,” Van Schalkwyk said.
As elections approach, Nigeria’s campaign emphasizes its transformation from a maritime security liability to a regional leader in combating piracy. The country’s zero-piracy record and blue economy initiatives form the cornerstone of its pitch to IMO member states.
However, success will depend on whether Nigeria can convince voters that its recent gains outweigh persistent capacity and regulatory challenges, particularly when competing against established maritime nations with proven track records in global shipping governance.
The outcome will determine not just Nigeria’s return to the IMO Council, but also Africa’s ability to strengthen its voice in shaping the future of international maritime policy.
The IMO Assembly elections will be held in London between November and December 2025.
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.
Oil and Gas7 months agoTantita’s Pipeline Deal: $144m Contract, Rising Output, and the Questions that Deserve Answers
- MARITIME TRADE & SHIPPING7 months ago
World’s Largest Container Ship Sets New Maritime Record with 22,233 TEUs on Single Voyage
- Blue Economy7 months ago
Nigeria’s Coast Guard Bill: A Solution in Search of a Problem?
