Blue Economy
TWO YEARS ON: HOW MOBEREOLA IS RESHAPING NIMASA AND NIGERIA’S BLUE ECONOMY AMBITION
TWO YEARS ON: HOW MOBEREOLA IS RESHAPING NIMASA AND NIGERIA’S BLUE ECONOMY AMBITION
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News Correspondent | Lagos
When Dr. Dayo Mobereola assumed the helm of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on March 22, 2024, he walked into an agency weighed down by training backlogs, regulatory gaps, and a global reputation tainted by piracy-era insurance penalties. Two years later, the picture looks strikingly different.
From an IMO Council seat to world-class security ratings from the United States Coast Guard, NIMASA under Mobereola has repositioned Nigeria not just as a West African maritime player, but as a credible voice in global maritime governance.
Dr. Dayo Mobereola Director General NIMASA
Seafarer Training Gets a Lifeline
The backlog in the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) was one of the agency’s most glaring failures before Mobereola’s arrival. He tackled it head-on. Over 235 cadets have since been dispatched to top maritime institutions in India and Greece for training as Licensed Deck and Engine Officers — a significant acceleration of a programme that had stalled for years.
In a symbolic but telling gesture, Mobereola personally attended the 2025 graduation ceremony of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) — a first for a sitting NIMASA Director-General, and a signal of renewed institutional commitment to Nigeria’s seafarer pipeline.
The agency has also modernised its Certificates of Competency (CoC) verification process, bringing Nigeria in line with global STCW requirements and tightening the integrity of its seafarer licensing system.
IMO Council Victory: Nigeria Returns to the Table
The crown jewel of NIMASA’s two-year run is Nigeria’s election into Category C of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council for the 2026–2027 biennium — the country’s first return to the Council in over a decade.
The win, secured at the IMO General Assembly in London on November 28, 2025, came on the back of more than twelve months of diplomatic shuttling, stakeholder engagement, and sustained advocacy. Marine and Blue Economy Minister Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, CON, who led the campaign, credited Nigeria’s reformed maritime security architecture and improvements in the Gulf of Guinea as decisive factors.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu formally commended NIMASA’s management, describing the outcome as a strong affirmation of Nigeria’s growing influence in international maritime affairs.
Digital Overhaul of Maritime Labour Administration
In June 2025, the Federal Government launched the Maritime Labour E-Platform at a Day of the Seafarer event in Port Harcourt. The platform — described by Minister Oyetola as transformative — consolidates the registration of seafarers, dockworkers, employers and other stakeholders under a single digital system, with biometric ID cards replacing paper-heavy processes.
“By centralising registration and issuing secure biometric ID cards, it cuts paperwork, speeds up processing, and gives us reliable real-time data,” said Jibril Abba, NIMASA’s Executive Director for Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services. “This helps us meet our obligations under the Maritime Labour Convention and boosts Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global Blue Economy.”
The platform fulfils NIMASA’s mandate under Section 27(1)(a) of the NIMASA Act 2007 and aligns the country with the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 — the so-called Seafarers’ Bill of Rights.
Operation Zero Tolerance: Enforcement with Teeth
Capacity-building without enforcement is half a policy. Mobereola demonstrated he understands this when NIMASA launched “Operation Zero Tolerance for Non-Compliance” in January 2026 — a targeted enforcement drive covering vessel registration, certifications, Cabotage compliance, ownership documentation, and fee payments.
The operation put all operators on notice: ship owners, oil companies, charterers, offshore installation operators and Free Trade Zone vessel operators were required to self-audit within a 30-day grace period. After that window closed, NIMASA made clear that vessel detention, monetary penalties, and denial of port clearance were the consequences for non-compliance.
“We urge all stakeholders to do their part so that together, we can build on the gains of previous regulatory achievements,” Mobereola stated.
Fighting the War Risk Insurance Premium
Perhaps no campaign better illustrates Mobereola’s international boldness than Nigeria’s push to be removed from war risk insurance (WRI) premium zones.
Nigeria has invested billions in maritime security. The Deep Blue Project has effectively ended piracy in Nigerian waters. Yet international insurers continue to classify Nigeria as high-risk — driving up shipping costs for Nigerian importers, and making Nigerian ports less competitive than they should be.
Under Minister Oyetola’s directive, Mobereola has taken Nigeria’s case directly to the world’s major shipping bodies: BIMCO, the International Chamber of Shipping, INTERCARGO and INTERTANKO. He also met with Chatham House’s Africa Programme Director Dr. Alex Vines, who agreed to escalate the matter to the United Nations.
Stinne Taiger Ivø, Deputy Secretary General of BIMCO, acknowledged Nigeria’s progress and called on ship owners to push for lower premiums. Zhou Xianyong of INTERCARGO offered assurances of support. Most recently, NIMASA engaged a Danish delegation, strategically targeting Denmark due to its significant stake in Maersk Line — in a bid to get Maersk’s influence working in Nigeria’s favour.
Infrastructure Push: Shipyards, Floating Docks and PPP
November 2025 saw NIMASA accredit 27 shipyards for operation across Nigeria — a meaningful boost to domestic ship repair and maintenance capacity. Ongoing efforts to operationalise the N50 billion Modular Floating Dock at the agency’s Apapa base are expected to further strengthen Nigeria’s maritime infrastructure.
Recognising that government cannot carry this alone, Mobereola has actively championed the Public-Private Partnership model, engaging the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to develop PPP frameworks that can attract both domestic and foreign investors.
Green Credentials: NIMASA at COP 30
NIMASA has also staked Nigeria’s claim as a leader in African maritime decarbonisation. At COP 30 in Belém, Brazil, the agency presented its Nigerian Maritime Continuous Emissions Monitoring System — a landmark tool developed in collaboration with University College London’s research group.
The journey started at COP 28, where NIMASA launched the call for an African Coalition on IMO emissions reduction; progressed at COP 29 with the presentation of a verifiable Nigerian maritime emissions inventory; and culminated at COP 30 with the formal unveiling of the monitoring system.
The IMO Secretary General’s representative, Roel Hoeders, commended NIMASA for deepening the continent’s conversation on maritime energy transition.
Seafarer Rights: Nigeria Leads at the ILO
On the international labour front, Mobereola has been equally vocal. At the 353rd session of the ILO Governing Body in Geneva in March 2025, he delivered a passionate address advocating for the formal designation of seafarers as key workers — a recognition that would guarantee their legal protection, priority access to healthcare, and fair labour conditions under the MLC 2006.
Domestically, NIMASA facilitated a Collective Bargaining Agreement in 2025 between the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) and shipping companies, establishing a reviewed minimum wage framework and clearer working conditions.
Security Gains Earn Global Recognition
Nigeria’s maritime security transformation has drawn praise from unexpected quarters. Following assessment visits to Dangote Port, Lekki Free Trade Zone, and private facilities in Warri, the United States Coast Guard delivered a verdict that few in the industry anticipated.
“Nigeria’s compliance with the ISPS Code ranks amongst the best globally,” said Joe Prince Larson, who led the USCG assessment team.
The assessment is part of a three-year plan to support the lifting of the Condition of Entry placed on Nigeria-bound vessels heading to American ports — a development that would significantly open up Nigeria’s maritime trade lanes. Naval officers from 20 countries participating in the French-led Siren Course also made a special port call in Lagos to study NIMASA’s C4I Centre, with the French Defence Attaché calling the Navy-NIMASA partnership “a model worthy of study.”
CVFF Disbursement in Sight
The long-delayed Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) — a persistent frustration for indigenous shipowners — has shown new signs of life under Mobereola. In January 2026, NIMASA commissioned the CVFF Application Portal, and meaningful disbursement to Nigerian shipowners is now anticipated within 2026.
Combined with the 27 newly accredited shipyards, the developments are beginning to create an ecosystem where local operators can finance vessels and access domestic repair services — a crucial step toward genuine cabotage growth.
The Road Ahead
As NIMASA moves deeper into 2026, the foundations are in place. But the harder work — converting policy into commercial outcomes — lies ahead. The war risk insurance campaign must yield real premium reductions. The CVFF must translate into actual fleet expansion. The IMO Council seat must be leveraged. The Floating Dock must be operationalized.
What is already beyond dispute is that under Mobereola’s watch, NIMASA has moved from a reactive regulator struggling with compliance backlogs to a proactive institution earning commendations on the global stage. Whether the momentum holds will determine whether Nigeria’s maritime sector finally delivers on its longstanding promise as an engine of national development.
Lagos Deputy Speaker Throws Weight Behind 8th WISTA Africa Conference
By Samson Onoharigho | Waterways News
The Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, has pledged her support for the 8th WISTA Africa Regional Conference and confirmed she will personally attend the continental maritime event, billed to take place in Lagos later this month.
Meranda gave the commitment when she received a delegation of the Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) Nigeria, led by its President, Dr. Odunayo Ani, during a courtesy visit to her office. The visit formed part of WISTA Nigeria’s pre-conference stakeholder outreach, targeting key institutional and legislative voices ahead of the gathering expected to draw policymakers, maritime regulators, industry operators, development partners, academics and professionals from across Africa.
Ani formally invited the Deputy Speaker and women across Lagos State to participate in the conference, scheduled for June 25 and 26, 2026, at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. She said the event, themed “From Policy to Implementation: Women Advancing Africa’s Blue Economy through Sustainable Shipping, Trade and Energy Innovation,” would focus on translating high-level policy commitments into concrete, sector-wide action.
The WISTA Nigeria president underscored Lagos’s pivotal role in Africa’s maritime economy, arguing that the visible participation of women leaders from the state would lend significant weight to ongoing advocacy for broader female representation in maritime decision-making, innovation, and economic governance.
A group photograph of WISTA Nigeria delegation with the Lagos Deputy Speaker, during a courtesy visit last week
“The support and participation of women leaders in Lagos State will enrich discussions and help advance the drive for greater female representation and inclusion across Africa’s maritime and blue economy sectors,” Ani said.
She also called on the Lagos State House of Assembly to mobilise women across the state for the conference, describing it as a rare platform for shaping a more inclusive and equitable future for Africa’s blue economy.
Responding warmly, Meranda commended WISTA Nigeria’s consistent contributions to championing women in the maritime industry and reaffirmed her longstanding relationship with the association. She confirmed her attendance and pledged active support for initiatives geared toward widening women’s participation across the blue economy value chain.
Nigeria Watch
The 8th WISTA Africa Regional Conference arrives at a moment of heightened policy activity in Nigeria’s maritime sector — from ongoing cabotage reform conversations and the CVFF disbursement saga to the broader push to position Nigeria as the hub of Africa’s blue economy. That WISTA Nigeria chose Lagos as the host city is no accident: with the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, the emerging Lekki Deep Seaport complex, and the administrative machinery of NIMASA and the NPA all concentrated in the commercial capital, Lagos remains the operational heartbeat of Nigeria’s shipping industry.
What stands out about this edition is the deliberate legislative buy-in. Securing the endorsement of the Lagos Deputy Speaker is not merely symbolic — it signals an attempt to build bridges between the maritime industry and the lawmaking architecture that ultimately shapes port governance, cabotage enforcement, and blue economy investment policy. For an industry that has long complained of regulatory fragmentation and legislative indifference, that kind of outreach matters.
The conference theme — moving from policy to implementation — also resonates sharply in the Nigerian context. Nigeria has no shortage of blue economy frameworks, maritime masterplans, and gender inclusion commitments on paper. The harder challenge, as industry stakeholders consistently note, is converting those documents into enforceable regulation, funded programmes, and genuine career pathways — particularly for women, who remain significantly underrepresented at the senior levels of Nigerian shipping, port management, and maritime trade.
Port operators, shipowners, freight forwarders and terminal managers attending the June 25–26 conference would do well to engage the implementation-focused sessions closely. The conversations there are likely to feed back into the policy pipeline affecting their operations.
Waterways News | Maritime & Blue Economy Reporting
Nigeria Projects Blue Economy Vision at Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News Correspondent
Nigeria has stepped onto the global stage to assert its maritime ambitions, with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, representing President Bola Tinubu at the Our Ocean Conference currently holding in Mombasa, Kenya.
The three-day summit, running from June 16 to 18, convenes heads of state, ministers, investors, environmental advocates, policymakers and civil society leaders to advance concrete solutions for protecting the world’s oceans while unlocking their economic potential. Since its founding in 2014, the conference has built a reputation as one of the world’s most outcome-driven environmental forums, with a strong record of converting pledges into verifiable action.
This year’s edition places Africa’s blue economy at the centre of deliberations, acknowledging its role in sustaining more than 50 million livelihoods across the continent’s 38 coastal nations. Key discussions are focused on persistent threats to marine ecosystems — illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, plastic pollution, rising ocean temperatures and the urgent need for expanded marine protected areas.
Nigeria is expected to use the platform to articulate its position as West Africa’s foremost maritime nation, drawing attention to ongoing efforts to develop its blue economy framework, reinforce maritime security architecture in the Gulf of Guinea, and improve ocean health across its coastline and exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The delegation is also expected to advance engagement with international partners on mechanisms to scale up sustainable ocean-based industries and deepen regional cooperation frameworks.
The conference programme extends beyond diplomatic exchanges to include investment forums, a BlueTech exhibition, youth leadership tracks and specialised policy clinics designed to drive innovation in climate adaptation and sustainable ocean governance. Organisers expect the gathering to catalyse fresh inflows of public and private capital into marine conservation and sustainable fisheries management.
Nigeria Watch
Nigeria’s participation in the Our Ocean Conference comes at a moment when the country’s blue economy agenda is still more aspiration than architecture. While the Tinubu administration has spoken broadly of harnessing Nigeria’s vast ocean resources — from fisheries and aquaculture to offshore energy and maritime tourism — the policy frameworks and funding mechanisms needed to convert that vision into commercial reality remain largely underdeveloped.
For Nigeria’s port operators, terminal managers and shipping stakeholders, the Mombasa summit carries practical significance beyond the diplomatic optics. International ocean governance commitments increasingly intersect with commercial maritime operations: stricter IUU fishing enforcement, expanded marine protected zones and emerging blue carbon markets all have direct implications for how shipping lanes, offshore logistics corridors and coastal port infrastructure are managed.
Equally notable is the investment dimension. The Our Ocean Conference has historically generated significant financing pledges for ocean-related projects. Nigeria’s ability to attract a share of that capital — particularly for port decarbonisation, offshore wind development and blue infrastructure along the Lagos-Calabar coastal corridor — will depend on whether Abuja can present bankable project pipelines backed by credible regulatory frameworks, rather than broad thematic declarations.
NIMASA’s ongoing efforts to modernise Nigeria’s maritime regulatory environment and the NPA’s port expansion programme are relevant foundations, but without coordinated blue economy legislation and dedicated funding mechanisms, Nigeria risks being a spectator at forums that are reshaping the global maritime investment landscape.
The question Mombasa should sharpen for Nigerian policymakers is straightforward: will the country leave with commitments, or with capital?
Waterways News — Covering Nigeria’s Maritime and Blue Economy Sector
How Liberia Turn Its Flag into a Maritime Goldmine — But the Profits Keep Sailing Away
The world’s largest ship registry sits in a West African nation with a $670 per capita income. The ships are everywhere. The money, largely, is not.
By Oghenewoke Osaweren | Waterways News
In the high-pressure world of global shipping, few decisions carry as much financial weight as where a vessel is registered. And right now, more shipowners are making that decision in favour of Liberia than any other country on earth.
As of June 2026, the Liberia-flagged fleet stood at 307.3 million gross tonnage — making the Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry (LISCR) the first registry in history to cross the 300 million GT threshold. It is the third consecutive year Liberia has held the title of the world’s largest shipping registry, widening its lead over its nearest rival by nearly 45 million gross tons.
The numbers are staggering. The Liberian Ship Registry now accounts for 17 percent of the global fleet, with 6,092 vessels flying its flag, and it represents 28 percent of global newbuilding gross tonnage — meaning more than one in four new ships entering the global fleet now does so under the Liberian colours.
But what pulls the world’s shipowners to a flag planted in one of West Africa’s most impoverished nations? And, critically, what is Liberia itself getting out of the arrangement?
THE MAGNET: WHAT SHIPOWNERS ARE REALLY BUYING
Established in 1948, the Liberian Registry has built its reputation on maritime safety, environmental standards, and administrative efficiency. Yet the hard commercial draw has always been simpler than that: cost reduction on a massive scale.
Shipowners choose Liberia’s open registry for lower taxes and reduced registration fees that can significantly slash operational costs, alongside the freedom to hire multinational crews at competitive wages — bypassing the higher labour costs imposed by national registries in Europe, Asia, or the Americas.
There are no crew nationality restrictions on Liberian vessels, and taxes are assessed at conservative rates based on net tonnage. For owners managing fleets of dozens of vessels, the cumulative savings run into tens of millions of dollars annually.
The registry is administered from Vienna, Virginia, with offices in New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong, London, Piraeus, Tokyo, Zurich, Singapore, and Monrovia, providing clients with 24-hour service. The bureaucratic friction that delays other registries simply does not exist here — a Liberian ship-owning corporation can typically be formed on the same working day instructions are received.
THE CHINA CARD
Beyond the traditional cost advantages, a newer and increasingly consequential incentive has emerged. Under a renewed maritime agreement with the People’s Republic of China, Liberian-flag vessels now enjoy preferential tonnage dues rates at Chinese ports, alongside expedited customs procedures and simplified port formalities — advantages that competing flags such as the Marshall Islands do not enjoy.
In a global shipping economy where China handles a dominant share of cargo, this diplomatic edge is no small commercial consideration.
LIBERIA’S GAIN — ON PAPER
Proponents of the arrangement argue that Liberia benefits meaningfully from the registry’s prestige and revenue. The Liberia Maritime Authority has described holding the world’s largest registry title as both an honour and a responsibility, with Commissioner Neto Zarzar Lighe Sr. pledging commitment to innovation and best practices expected of a Category ‘A’ member of the International Maritime Organisation’s Council.
The registry is reported to generate approximately 25 percent of Liberia’s national income — a figure that, if accurate, would represent a remarkable dependency on a single offshore arrangement. Liberian-flagged vessels also carry more than one-third of the oil imported into the United States, giving Liberia an invisible but powerful role in American energy supply chains.
THE UNCOMFORTABLE ARITHMETIC
But the glowing statistics mask a deeply troubling reality.
According to the Liberia Revenue Authority’s own records, the country received just US$12 million in maritime revenue in the 2019-2020 tax year from LISCR — amounting to only 2.75 percent of its total domestic revenue. More recent estimates place Liberia’s annual take from the registry at approximately $20 million.
Against a backdrop where Liberia’s total GDP stood at $4.75 billion in 2024, with a per capita income of just $670, the question becomes stark: who is really benefiting from the world’s most powerful shipping flag?
When over 130 countries representing 90 percent of global GDP came together in 2021 to agree a historic minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent for multinationals, shipping alone was excluded — an arrangement that continues to shield the registry’s clients from the kind of global tax reform that would otherwise erode their savings.
The structural explanation is revealing. LISCR is a purpose-made limited liability company registered in Delaware and based in Virginia, with US nationals as exclusive investors under Liberian law — meaning the entity that manages the world’s largest shipping registry is legally and operationally American, not Liberian.
Even the United States Ambassador to Liberia has publicly acknowledged the gap, stating that “the revenue, jobs, and expertise generated by LISCR have the potential to benefit Liberia’s economy in nearly every sector” — while urging that maritime revenues be transparently incorporated into the national budget. The diplomatic phrasing barely conceals the implicit admission: the potential is there, but the delivery has fallen short.
A FLAG THAT FLIES EVERYWHERE, PROFITS THAT LAND NOWHERE NEAR MONROVIA
Liberian investigative voices have grown increasingly vocal, with local media questioning whether registry revenues are ending up in the pockets of a privileged few, including top officials and their political lawyers, rather than flowing into public coffers.
The ITF has long argued that the FOC system lets foreign shipowners use the Liberian flag to benefit from lax regulations and lower operating expenses, resulting in labour exploitation with little meaningful economic benefit returning to Liberia itself.
The paradox is stark enough to have earned a name in academic and policy circles. The downward drag that tax havens brought to government revenues worldwide was once commonly referred to as the “Liberian Problem.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE FOR AFRICA
For maritime-watchers across West Africa — and in Nigeria, where the inland waterways sector continues to seek investment and regulatory frameworks that actually serve national interests — the Liberian registry story carries a cautionary resonance.
A nation can sit at the centre of global maritime commerce, command the allegiance of 6,000 vessels flying its flag across every ocean, carry a third of America’s oil imports, and still struggle to translate that extraordinary leverage into domestic development. The ships sail. The registry grows. The flag waves on every sea.
The revenue, largely, waves goodbye with them.
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