‘N1trn Lost Annually to Poor Maritime Infrastructure’

Nigerian shipowners have said that the country’s maritime sector is losing about N1tn annually due to poor infrastructure.

The immediate past president of the Shipowners Association of Nigeria, Greg Ogbeifun, said this on Tuesday in Lagos at the national discourse with Distinguished Maritime Personalities organised by Maritime Nigeria Limited.

Speaking during the event, Ogbeifun, said that Nigeria is losing an estimated $1tn annually in the entire shipping sector due to lack of vessels, infrastructure, human capacity, and cargo carriage.

“This country is losing close to N1tn in the entire shipping sector both infrastructure, human capacity, and cargo carriage,” he added.

Ogbeifun who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Starz Marine and Engineering Limited called on the private sector in the shipping subsector to establish platforms to help actualise the policies in the sector.

He said the President, Bola Tinubu, has done the right thing by separating the maritime industry from the Ministry of Transportation.

Also speaking the President of the Nigerian Indigenous Shipowners Association, Sola Adewunmi, represented at the event by the Public Relations Officer of NISA, Gbolahan Adu, called on the stakeholders in the maritime sector to accommodate the younger generation of Nigerians into the sector.

In his welcome speech, convener of the Discourse, Kelvin Kagbare, kicked against the establishment of universities and institutions in maritime and transportation.