By Steve Agbota
In a development that signposts readiness to maximise the gains derivable from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on Friday, said it has deployed its state-of-the-art marine crafts to berth the first wholly Nigerian-owned container vessel.
The container vessel with International Maritime Organization (IMO) number 9508770, christened MV Ocean Dragon, owned by Clarion Shipping West Africa Limited, has a capacity of 349 Twenty-Foot-Equivalent Units (TEUs), gives a boost to concerted investment drive geared towards reaping the cost and time saving benefits of short-sea shipping by plying in-country maritime trade routes across Nigeria and the West African sub-region and offers an efficient alternative to road transport as the Authority’s efforts at deepening multi modalism crystallise. The vessel is scheduled to operate across West Africa and beyond, servicing ports in Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Egypt, South Africa and others, with expressions of interest for business already being established.
Responding to the milestone, the Managing Director/ CEO of the NPA Abubakar Dantsoho said, “this development is a testament to our relentless commitment towards deepening efficiencies required for maximising our marine and blue economy potentials in line with the prompting of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola whose tenacity of purpose culminated in the recent FEC approval of the national policy on Marine and Blue Economy.
On her part, Vice President of Clarion Shipping West Africa Limited, Bernadine Eloka, described the acquisition as a bold solution to the high-risk, road-dominated movement of cargoes within Nigeria and a strategic move to deepen regional trade under the AfCFTA.
She said the Clarion Group aims to offer more efficient intra-African shipping services while opening up new business opportunities across ports in Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and beyond.