Oluyinka Onigbinde
Nearly three years after President Bola Tinubu created the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy with the promise of repositioning Nigeria as a major maritime nation, one of its most ambitious projects the revival of a National Fleet has remained on the drawing board despite repeated assurances by the Federal Government.
The proposed National Fleet, which is expected to boost indigenous shipping capacity, create employment for Nigerian seafarers, reduce capital flight through freight earnings and strengthen Nigeria’s participation in global shipping, has been repeatedly highlighted by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, as a key pillar of the country’s blue economy strategy.
Yet, despite a series of policy pronouncements, stakeholder engagements and assurances spanning over a year, no vessel has been acquired, no investor consortium has been publicly unveiled, and no implementation timeline has been announced.
The development has continued to raise concerns among maritime stakeholders who fear that the initiative could suffer the same fate as previous attempts to revive Nigeria’s national carrier.
The Federal Government first signalled its renewed determination to revive the National Fleet during an interactive session with the League of Maritime Editors in Lagos in February 2025, where Oyetola disclosed that government had constituted a National Fleet Implementation Committee to drive the initiative.
At the meeting, the minister explained that unlike the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL), the proposed National Fleet would operate under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with government serving only as a facilitator rather than an operator.
He maintained that the structure was deliberately designed to ensure commercial viability, attract private investment and eliminate the political interference that contributed to the collapse of previous government-owned shipping ventures.
Several months later, while addressing global investors at the London International Shipping Week (LISW) in September 2025, Oyetola again projected the National Fleet as one of Nigeria’s flagship maritime investment opportunities, urging international investors to take advantage of the country’s ongoing reforms in the marine and blue economy sector.
The minister told participants that the Federal Government was committed to creating an enabling environment for investment in shipping, port infrastructure, fisheries, marine tourism and other components of the blue economy, with the National Fleet expected to play a strategic role in enhancing Nigeria’s presence in international maritime trade.
Again, in January 2026, during the launch of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) application portal, Oyetola described access to finance as critical to strengthening indigenous shipping and expanding Nigeria’s fleet capacity, reinforcing government’s commitment to developing a stronger Nigerian shipping industry.
Beyond these public engagements, the minister has, at several stakeholder meetings with indigenous shipowners, maritime associations and investors, consistently reiterated that the National Fleet remains on course and would be driven by private investment rather than direct government ownership.
However, despite the repeated assurances, stakeholders say implementation has remained slow, with little visible progress nearly three years after the creation of the Ministry.
Nigeria has remained without a National Carrier since the liquidation of the Nigerian National Shipping Line in 1995.
Over the past three decades, successive administrations have announced plans to revive a National Fleet, yet none has progressed beyond policy declarations.
Under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, a National Fleet Implementation Committee headed by former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello was inaugurated to develop a framework for a new National Carrier.
The committee eventually recommended a private sector-driven model to insulate the proposed fleet from political interference while ensuring commercial sustainability.
Although, the Tinubu administration adopted the proposal as one of the centerpieces of its blue economy agenda, implementation has remained slower than many industry stakeholders had anticipated.
Speaking exclusively with Shipping Position Daily, former Minister of Interior, renowned shipowner and Chairman of Integrated Oil and Gas Limited, Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho, said while the Federal Government’s aspiration to revive the National Fleet is commendable, authorities must first understand why previous efforts failed.
“I wouldn’t like to criticise a government’s decision in terms of what they want to do, but I would advise on specific things that they need to do before they refloat the National Fleet,” Iheanacho said.
According to him, the starting point should be a comprehensive review of the factors that led to the collapse of the former National Fleet.
“It would be very wise for us to find out exactly why the last National Fleet did not thrive and to make sure that we avoid the pitfalls that made those ones a failure,” he stated.
He noted that while the desire to once again fly the Nigerian flag across international waters is a worthy national objective, symbolism alone cannot sustain a shipping company.
“It’s a very good thing for us to say we are aspiring to have the National Fleet. One of the key political objectives would be to show the National Flag,” he said.
Drawing from his decades of experience in the maritime industry, Iheanacho recalled commanding a vessel from the United Kingdom to Canada with an entirely Nigerian crew while serving as a ship captain, saying the experience proved beyond doubt that Nigerians possess the technical competence to manage ocean-going vessels.
“People came on board expecting to see a mixture of white officers and Nigerian crews, but they saw only Nigerians. That was a very good demonstration that Nigerians have the capacity,” he recalled.
The maritime veteran, however, warned that technical competence alone would not guarantee the success of the proposed National Fleet.
According to him, one of the biggest mistakes made by the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line was the failure to understand the commercial realities of global shipping.
“We didn’t fully appreciate that there was a specific market in which vessels operated. You must understand how that market operates,” he explained.
He cautioned that merely acquiring vessels without first identifying profitable cargo opportunities and market segments would only lead to another failed venture.
“If you just go out and buy a ship and field it without understanding the market context, you will be running back and forth and you won’t see any cargo to carry,” he warned.
Explaining further, Iheanacho said successful shipping businesses are driven by market intelligence, cargo development and sound commercial planning rather than the mere ownership of ships.
He observed that the former Nigerian National Shipping Line concentrated heavily on technical operations while paying inadequate attention to marketing and cargo generation.
“There wasn’t really a very strong need for people to have marketing that made sure the ship was full and carrying the right type of cargo,” he said.
According to him, the profitability of any shipping company depends not on how frequently its vessels sail, but on the quality and value of the cargoes they carry.
“You can be full carrying salt back and forth… or you can be full carrying first-class cargo and you’d be making quite a lot of money,” he added.
