The Maritime Industry of Nigeria.

Further into this paper, the history of the Nigerian Shipping Industry will be discussed, in mid-1950s, Nigeria’s first indigenous shipping line the “Nigerian Line” was established by Mr. Patrick Osoba as a joint venture with the Finnish firm, Nordstrom and Company. Furthermore, the evolution of the Nigerian fleet will be shown in statistics from 1980 to 2017 and what happened between these years. There are many challenges that affects the Maritime Transportation Industry in Nigeria and these have to be solved and taken into consideration because this Industry plays a vital role in the Economy and growth of the Nation. These challenges are funding, manpower, legislation, pollution, safety etc. these would be expatiated further into this paper, and I have tried to analyze these challenges and given a proposal on how to boost the Nigerian Maritime Industry.

Maritime Transportation Development in Nigeria: The role of maritime transportation in the context of economic, political, social and historical development of different developed, underdeveloped, or developing countries is undeniably of very great importance to each nation. The history, growth and progress of nations are closely interwoven with the degree of development of the maritime transport industry that can exist or already in existence. In the case of Nigeria, it is situated on the occidental part of Africa, which has a coast line of 853km which runs through the southern states, Lagos, Cross Rivers, Delta, Ondo, Bayelsa, Akwa-ibom, and Rivers bordering the Atlantic Ocean so therefore, there is no exception on this. The economic level, an adequate and efficient maritime transport system plays a vital role in the development of a country’s market especially the market of international trade by transforming local markets in to national, regional and international focus. This allows economies of great scale in areas that have promising comparative advantage with concomitant generation of huge employment opportunities.

Before the appraisal of Maritime Transportation in Nigeria, it is necessary to discuss the history of the Maritime Industry in Nigeria. The idea of shipping as the catalyst of developing the economy is not a new theory as Adam Smith saw the shipping industry as one of the stepping stones to economic growth. He wrote: A business working in a country town without links to the outside world can never, he argued, achieve high levels of efficiency because it’s very small market will limit the degree of specialization.² In mid-1950s, Nigeria’s first indigenous shipping line the “Nigerian Line” was established by Mr. Patrick Osoba as a joint venture with the Finnish firm, Nordstrom and Company. In 1959, the Nigerian Shipping Line Limited (NNSL) was established by the Nigerian Government; with Palm Lines ltd. and Elder Dempster ltd. as technical partners who were bought out in 1961 (Ugochukwu, 1990). NNSL started operations with two second-hand vessels, grew to 27 ships in 1980, and declined to 13 in 1992. To revitalise its fortune, $65million via the Ship Acquisition and Ship Building Fund (SASBF) was invested, but this was mismanaged leading to NNSL’s liquidation in 1995. Failure of NNSL can be attributed to several factors among which are: political interference, huge debts, exorbitant repair bills, debt owed among others. In 1995, NMA established another government owned national carrier: the National Unity Line (NUL), with MV Abuja – a 6,879 dwt vessel, as its only vessel. Unfortunately, in 2002 it’s only vessel was sold off. By 2000, Nigeria had a total of 122 registered indigenous shipping companies who mainly chartered their vessels.³ Maritime trade has played a key role in Nigeria’s economic development. It accounts for about 95% of the vehicular means of Nigeria’s International Trade.⁴ The maritime industry of Nigeria is a Major sector of the Nigerian economy putting in consideration that the country’s status is a major oil producing and exporting country. As a consumer nation, this country is a large market for foreign goods owing to its population. The Maritime business has been has served as a crucial means in the process of the diversification of the Nigerian economy, which is an important aptitude in view of the crashing crude oil prices in the recent times. The major attributes and characteristics associated with the maritime transportation industry particularly against the background of the appearing obliviousness harrowing policies encompassing this sector. Remarkably, the Key qualities and attributes of maritime transport and which can also be applied to different modes of transportation shows that:

1. Maritime transport, is an essential derivative demand

2. Maritime transport is demand responsive.

3. The maritime transport sector is Capital intensive which means that transportation requires large funds and human resources and maintenance.

4. The industry’s labour market requires both skilled and unskilled workers.

5. Global and international Economy influences the maritime industry especially because it affects the trade pattern of the Nation.

6. Maritime transportation is very open to technological efficiencies and changes.

7. Structural support and logistics are vital and very essential in order to achieve an efficient Maritime Transportation System.