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NIMASA Signs MoU with ITC-ILO in Turin to Strengthen Maritime Labour Capacity
NIMASA Signs MoU with ITC-ILO in Turin to Strengthen Maritime Labour Capacity
By Ighoyota Onaibre | Waterways News
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has formalised a partnership with the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ITC-ILO), signing a Memorandum of Understanding in Turin, Italy, aimed at building the institutional and professional capacity of Nigeria’s maritime workforce.
The agreement covers targeted technical assistance, training, and capacity-building for NIMASA staff and relevant stakeholders across the Nigerian maritime industry. The deal was announced in a statement by NIMASA’s Deputy Director and Head of Public Relations, Osagie Edward.
NIMASA Director General Dr. Dayo Mobereola, represented at the signing by Executive Director of Finance and Administration Mr. Chudi Offodile, described investment in human capital as central to the agency’s mandate. He said the partnership fits into NIMASA’s deliberate objective of structured capacity-building programmes for maritime professionals , and that it would help position the Nigerian maritime sector to meet emerging global industry demands.
A key focus of the MoU is strengthening Nigeria’s administration of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006, as amended. The partnership leverages ITC-ILO’s expertise to build the capacity of maritime labour inspectors, policymakers, and trainers in the interpretation and implementation of the convention.
ITC-ILO Director Mr. Christopher Perrin welcomed the partnership and assured that the Centre would deploy its faculty and resources to support Nigeria’s pursuit of sustainable human capacity development.
The MoU was the product of sustained engagement between the two organisations. NIMASA’s Executive Director of Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr. Jibril Abba, and ITC-ILO’s Head of Training, Giuseppe Zefola, served as focal persons, with ILO Regional Adviser Dr. Amos Kuje providing technical guidance throughout the process.
Nigeria Watch
The NIMASA-ITC-ILO MoU arrives at a moment when the credibility of Nigeria’s maritime labour administration is under close international scrutiny. The MLC 2006, to which Nigeria is a signatory, sets binding minimum standards on seafarer working conditions, welfare, and recruitment — areas where enforcement gaps have long drawn criticism from shipowners, crewing agencies, and seafarers themselves.
For NIMASA, the practical value of this partnership will be measured not at the signing ceremony in Turin but at the port-level implementation that follows. Nigeria currently struggles with inconsistent MLC inspection capacity, understaffed maritime labour offices, and a certification ecosystem that remains partly paper-based despite years of digitalisation pledges. If the ITC-ILO’s training pipeline is structured around these specific deficits — rather than generic maritime governance curricula — the collaboration could make a tangible difference.
The timing is also notable. With the IMO’s Day of the Seafarer falling on 25 June, Nigerian seafarers’ welfare has been high on the advocacy agenda. NIMASA’s leadership has repeatedly stated its commitment to decent work principles in the maritime sector; this MoU, if operationalised robustly, gives that commitment an institutional framework and an internationally recognised partner to hold it accountable. The seafaring community will be watching for the training calendar, the curricula, and — crucially — whether the capacity built within NIMASA actually translates into improved conditions for Nigerian ratings and officers at sea.
Waterways News | waterwaysnews.ng
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24 Vessels Discharging Petroleum, Bulk Cargo in Lagos Ports as NPA Reports Sustained Cargo Throughput
24 Vessels Discharging Petroleum, Bulk Cargo in Lagos Ports as NPA Reports Sustained Cargo Throughput
By Emetena Ikuku | Waterways News
A total of twenty-four vessels are currently discharging petroleum products and other commodities at Apapa, Lekki and Tin-Can Island ports, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) disclosed on Friday, pointing to sustained cargo throughput across the Lagos port complex.
According to the Authority, the berthed vessels are offloading a mix that includes bulk wheat, bulk salt, general cargo, fresh fish, containerised goods, bulk sugar, petrol, bulk gas, diesel and bulk urea.
NPA also reported that 46 additional vessels are expected to arrive at the Lagos ports in the coming days, carrying general cargo, bulk urea, crude oil, bulk gas, bulk wheat, bulk millet, bulk sugar, condensate, aviation fuel, containerised goods, bulk salt and petrol.
A further nine vessels have already arrived and are currently waiting to berth, with cargo manifests showing bulk urea, crude oil, diesel, aviation fuel, gasoline, bulk fertilizer, general cargo and petrol.
Nigeria Watch
The traffic figures offer a useful pulse-check on Lagos port activity at a moment when downstream petroleum supply chains are under close watch. With diesel, petrol, aviation fuel and gasoline featuring prominently across all three vessel categories — discharging, inbound, and awaiting berth — the numbers suggest import-dependent fuel supply into Lagos remains active even as Nigeria’s refining capacity expands.
For terminal operators and freight forwarders, the 79-vessel pipeline (24 berthed, 9 waiting, 46 inbound) signals continued pressure on berth allocation and turnaround efficiency at Apapa and Tin-Can Island in particular — both of which already contend with congestion and access-road bottlenecks. The presence of bulk agricultural commodities (wheat, sugar, millet, salt) alongside petroleum products also reinforces Lagos ports’ dual role as Nigeria’s primary entry point for both energy and food security imports.
Stakeholders will want to watch whether NPA’s call-up and berthing window management can absorb this volume without the queuing delays that have historically driven up demurrage costs for importers and consignees.
Lagos Lands €170m EIB Financing to Power Omi Eko Electric Ferry Rollout
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
Lagos State has secured €170 million in financing from EIB Global, the European Investment Bank’s development arm, to fast-track a low-carbon water transport network across the state’s lagoon system.
The facility was signed at a ceremony and site visit hosted by the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), marking the first formal collaboration between LASWA and the EIB. Senior officials present included EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS Gautier Mignot, and French Consul General in Lagos Laurent Favier.
The loan, backed by an EU guarantee under the Global Gateway Initiative, forms part of the wider Omi Eko Project. With co-financing from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the European Commission, total support for the scheme now stands at roughly €410 million, comprising about €300 million in subsidised loans and €60 million in grants, according to Ambassador Mignot.
Under the plan, Lagos is set to build out new ferry piers, upgraded jetties and modern maintenance facilities, alongside a fleet of fully electric vessels designed to cut emissions and improve lagoon water quality. In total, the project will establish 15 structured ferry routes covering 140 kilometres, link 25 upgraded terminals, and deploy 75 electric vessels with capacity for up to 440 passengers each. The state is targeting an increase in water transport’s share of Lagos’s overall mobility mix from under 1 percent today to as much as 8 percent by 2032, in line with its transport master plan.
From L-R: Representative of AFD, Alexander Lorot, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Blue Economy, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, Vice President, European Investment Bank, Ambroise Fayolle, Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, European Union Ambassador, Gautier Mignot during the event in Lagos on Friday.
Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, called the partnership a major milestone and pledged policy consistency, transparency and close collaboration with the EIB to meet international delivery standards. Special Adviser to the Governor on Blue Economy, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, described the signing as a turning point for unlocking the state’s blue economy potential, positioning Omi Eko as a model for international cooperation in the sector.
Fayolle said the investment supports a safer, more efficient and more affordable transport system for Lagos residents while backing green growth and job creation, framing it as a concrete step in EIB’s Global Gateway commitments in West Africa. Mignot added that the project reflects the depth of EU-Nigeria cooperation and said he looked forward to riding electric ferries across the lagoon as connectivity expands further into the ECOWAS region.
Nigeria Watch
For Nigerian maritime stakeholders, Omi Eko is the clearest signal yet that European development finance sees Lagos’s waterways as investable infrastructure rather than informal transport — a status NIWA-regulated inland operators and LASWA have pushed for years to secure.
A Few Things Worth Watching:
First EIB-LASWA deal, not first EU money in Lagos transport. This builds on years of EU and Global Gateway interest in West African connectivity, but it’s the first time EIB has financed LASWA directly — a precedent other state waterway authorities (LASWA’s NIWA counterparts, Rivers, Cross River) will be studying closely for their own port and ferry concession pitches.
Local Content and Shipbuilding Implications: Seventy-five electric vessels is a meaningful order book. Whether Nigerian yards or assemblers get any of that work — versus turnkey importation — will shape how much of the €410 million circulates domestically beyond construction and terminal contracts.
Charging Infrastructure is the Quiet Story: Electric ferries need shore power and charging at 25 terminals. That’s a parallel build-out — grid capacity, embedded generation, or hybrid diesel-backup — that hasn’t been detailed yet and will determine whether “electric” holds up operationally on Lagos’s grid.
Modal Share Target is Ambitious But Plausible: Moving from under 1 percent to 8 percent by 2032 would meaningfully ease Lagos’s notorious road congestion, but it depends on fare affordability, last-mile connections from terminals, and safety record — an area NIWA and LASWA have both faced scrutiny over following recent inland waterway incidents.
Governance and Continuity Risk: EU financing of this scale typically comes with procurement, environmental and reporting conditions. Given Lagos’s history of stalled transport mega-projects, stakeholders will be watching disbursement timelines as closely as the headline figure.
Waterways News reports Nigeria Blue Economy, Maritime Trade and Shipping, Coastal and Inland Waterways News
CMA CGM Slaps $750 Per Container Surcharge on Nigeria-Bound Cargo from China
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
French shipping conglomerate CMA CGM has announced a new Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) of $750 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) on containerised cargo moving from China to Nigeria, a development that threatens to drive up the cost of imported goods across Africa’s most populous nation.
The surcharge, which took effect on 15 June 2026, covers both dry and refrigerated cargo shipped under short-term contracts on the China-West Africa trade corridor.
Under the new rate structure, Nigeria joins Côte d’Ivoire, Benin and Equatorial Guinea at the $750 per TEU band. Togo faces the steepest levy at $850 per TEU, while Ghana attracts $650 per TEU. Countries in the West Africa North range — including Senegal, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and Sao Tome & Principe — will pay a comparatively lower $350 per TEU. Shipments to Gambia attract $600 per TEU. Guinea is the sole country exempted from the latest charge.
CMA CGM has framed the surcharge as a measure to support reliable and efficient service delivery across the route. However, the timing is likely to draw criticism from Nigerian importers and trade groups already contending with a difficult operating environment marked by naira volatility, elevated inflation and high logistics costs at the nation’s ports.
The new charge represents a dramatic climb from where surcharges stood just 15 months ago. In April 2025, CMA CGM’s equivalent levy on the China-to-West Africa route stood at $250 per TEU. By March 2026, it had reached $700 per TEU before brief adjustments placed it between $500 and $600 per TEU in April notices. The carrier pegged it at $600 per TEU effective 1 June 2026 — only to revise it upward to $750 per TEU within a fortnight, a pattern that underscores the pricing turbulence that has increasingly defined freight rates on this route.
The cumulative effect is stark: today’s surcharge is three times what Nigerian importers were absorbing just over a year ago.
For businesses that rely on imports — manufacturers sourcing raw materials, distributors of electronics and pharmaceuticals, and traders bringing in consumer goods — the new charge adds another layer of cost that is typically passed down the supply chain to end users. In practical terms, it means higher prices on shelves at a time when purchasing power remains under significant strain.
The development also lands as stakeholders continue pressing for structural reforms to reduce the cost of trade through Nigerian ports, improve export competitiveness and attract more direct shipping services to reduce reliance on transshipment hubs.
Industry watchers say that until Nigeria is able to generate sufficient export volumes to make the country a commercially attractive destination for carriers — rather than a market that must absorb whatever surcharges international lines choose to impose — freight pricing will remain largely outside the control of Nigerian businesses and regulators.
NIGERIA WATCH
What this means for Nigeria at a glance
$750/TEU — Current Peak Season Surcharge on China-Nigeria cargo (eff. 15 June 2026)
3x — How much the surcharge has grown since April 2025, when it stood at $250/TEU
2 weeks — How quickly CMA CGM raised the rate from $600 to $750/TEU in June alone
Who bears the cost — Importers of raw materials, pharmaceuticals, electronics, machinery and consumer goods
Knock-on effect — Higher landed costs are expected to feed into factory-gate and retail prices, adding pressure to already elevated inflation
Wider context — Nigeria is paying $100/TEU more than Ghana and $400/TEU more than West Africa North range countries such as Senegal and Liberia
The bigger picture — Without strong export volumes to balance trade flows, Nigeria remains a price-taker on international freight routes
Waterways News | Covering Nigeria’s Maritime, Port and Inland Waterways Sector
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