Stakeholders in Nigeria’s maritime sector have decried the country’s continued loss of over $500 million annually due to the absence of a structured and regulated ship brokerage system.
This is according to seasoned shipbrokers who spoke to our correspondent in a separate interviews recently.
In a chat with our correspondent, Capt. Tami Adu, a seasoned offshore vessel expert who has spent nearly four decades in the maritime industry, said the lack of compliance monitoring and oversight in vessel chartering is causing significant revenue losses to the government.
According to him, shipbrokers not only facilitate deals between cargo owners and vessel owners, but also ensure technical compliance, vessel vetting, and market intelligence, all of which are critical to safe and profitable maritime operations.
He lamented that the Cabotage tax— a statutory 2% charge on every vessel contract, is largely unmonitored due to the informal nature of vessel chartering in Nigeria. “If government handed this process to trained shipbrokers, we would ensure every transaction is documented and remitted properly. Right now, what we’re losing annually exceeds $500 million,” he said.
Adu explained that while the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS), headquartered in London, provides global certification and technical capacity for professionals across the world, many Nigerian operators either ignore or bypass the standards, leading to poor outcomes in contract execution and vessel performance.
Corroborating this, Mr. Sesan Ajayi, a fellow of the Institute and the current chairman of the Nigerian chapter, noted that there are fewer than 40 certified shipbrokers in Nigeria, while the market is flooded with unqualified individuals engaging in shipbroking activities without professional training.
He warned that this poses risks to trade reliability and undermines Nigeria’s potential to benefit from frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Ajayi stressed that effective shipbroking is key to boosting intra-African trade, reducing logistics costs, and closing the infrastructure gap in the maritime value chain.
He revealed that Nigeria’s logistics cost is 23% of GDP, nearly double the global average of 12%, largely due to inefficiencies in shipping and trade logistics. These are gaps that shipbrokers are professionally trained to close, he added.
He applauded the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and the newly-launched national policy, but emphasized that the policy must be followed through with skilled manpower development and strict regulatory enforcement. “Shipbroking is still green in Nigeria. But if done right, it can revolutionize how cargo moves, how vessels are sourced, and how contracts are structured locally,” he said.
Adding his voice, a senior member of the ICS; Mr Abdulrasak Arije described the institute as the gold standard for maritime professionalism and a neutral voice in policy discussions. He emphasized the institute’s role in training and certifying shipbrokers, chartering agents, vessel sales experts, and cargo specialists, all with global best practices.
“At the ICS, we uphold the gold standard for maritime professionalism. We train and certify shipbrokers, chartering agents, vessel sales experts, and cargo specialists to operate ethically and efficiently across global markets. In West Africa, our goal is to support the government and private operators by building local capacity that meets international standards. A strong maritime policy must be matched with a skilled workforce—and that’s what ICS provides. We are also a neutral, credible voice in policy dialogue and compliance monitoring,” he stressed.
He also weighed in on the controversial Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), which has remained dormant for nearly two decades despite its objective of empowering Nigerian ship owners. “The CVFF was designed to empower Nigerian ship owners to compete within our coastal waters. Unfortunately, it’s remained underutilized for nearly 20 years. The issues range from bureaucratic red tape to trust deficits between regulators and beneficiaries.
“However, the current administration has reopened that conversation with seriousness, and we commend that. Moving forward, disbursement must be transparent, merit-based, and structured through trusted intermediaries—shipbrokers and financiers who understand vessel valuation, ownership risks, and commercial structuring. ICS can play a crucial role in ensuring proper due diligence.”
With the maritime industry’s contribution to GDP currently below 1%, the stakeholders say proper integration of shipbroking into Nigeria’s maritime policy, backed by enforcement, will not only enhance revenue generation but also strengthen trade facilitation, vessel integrity, and investor confidence.
