NPA Berths First Wholly Nigeria-Owned Container Vessel
Lagos (Core Reporters) In a landmark achievement in the Nigerian Maritime sector, the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) has berthed the first wholly Nigerian-owned container vessel on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.
The container vessel with International Maritime Organization (IMO) number 9508770 christened MV Ocean Dragon is 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 crystallize.
It 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.
According to the Managing Director/ CEO of the NPA, Abubakar Dantsoho, the development shows the readiness of the agency to maximize the gains derivable from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He said, “This development is a testament to our relentless commitment towards deepening efficiencies required for maximizing our marine and blue economy potentials in line with the prompting of the Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola whose tenacity of purpose culminated in the recent FEC approval of the national policy on Marine and Blue Economy”.
Speaking, the Vice President of Clarion Shipping West Africa Limited, Bernadine Eloka, said the acquisition of the Container Vessel was 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 further informed that, the Clarion Group is set to offer more efficient intra-African shipping services while opening up new business opportunities across ports in Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and beyond.
She said, “We acquired MV Ocean Dragon to offer a seamless alternative to container haulage by road. Rather than struggling to move containers from Lekki to Onitsha, Port Harcourt, or Calabar by trucks, Ocean Dragon can move up to 349 containers by sea and deliver within two days from port to port”.
According to her, enforcement of the cabotage regime would encourage local investment, create jobs, and reduce Nigeria’s dependency on foreign-owned shipping lines.
Also speaking, the Managing Director (MD) of Clarion Suncity Terminal Logistics Limited, Mustafa Mohammed, said the company would take aggressive steps to compete with global giants, such as Maersk Line and MSC, by leveraging its status as Nigeria’s first indigenous shipping liner, investing in assets that directly support Nigerian exporters and importers, particularly in the landlocked regions.
According to him, the company had already secured bookings for 1,300 export containers, and is helping farmers and manufacturers to avoid losses caused by delays and lack of containers.
Core Reporters report that this development is coming on the heels of the announcement by the MD NPA Abubakar Dantsoho of fresh injection of $60 million in fresh investments towards the establishment of eco-friendly ports developments catalyzed by the Authority’s renewed orientation towards Nigerian content development.
