By Oluyinka Onigbinde
Nigeria’s maritime sector on Thursday failed to mark the 2026 World Maritime Day. There was an unusual atmosphere of silence, with no major Federal Government-led celebration taking place across the country. This perhaps made stakeholders to question the significance of the annual ceremony, without corresponding improvements in the sector.
Although the 2026 celebration could still be organised at a later date, stakeholders said the development provides an opportunity for the Federal Government and maritime agencies to reflect on whether the annual World Maritime Day ceremonies have produced meaningful and measurable impact on the Nigerian maritime industry.
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) designated September 24, 2026, as World Maritime Day, with the theme, “From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence.”
The theme places emphasis on translating maritime policies and regulations into practical implementation, effective enforcement and tangible improvements in safety, security, environmental protection, seafarers’ welfare and the efficiency of maritime transport.
But, rather than the usual gathering of government officials, maritime agencies, operators, shipowners, seafarers, freight forwarders and other industry stakeholders, the day passed quietly in Nigeria.
Shipping Position Daily gathered that the absence of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, may have contributed to the non-observance of the day, as the Minister was in Paris, France, alongside President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The President and the Minister were in France for the signing of agreements between the Ogun State Government and DP World concerning the development of the Gateway Deep Seaport and the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.
While the Federal Government may still decide to hold a national event to commemorate the day at a later date, maritime stakeholders who spoke with Shipping Position Daily said the more important question should be – what has Nigeria gained from years of celebrating World Maritime Day?
According to them, the occasion should not merely become an annual gathering where government officials deliver speeches, stakeholders make recommendations and commitments are made without a mechanism for measuring what has been achieved before the next round of celebrations.
One stakeholder said there was a need to move the celebration away from what he described as “ceremonial”, to a system where every year’s theme is linked to specific deliverables for Nigeria’s maritime sector.
The stakeholder said: “Even if the government decides to celebrate it later, we need to ask ourselves what exactly we are celebrating. Every year, we gather, make speeches and identify the challenges confronting the sector. But by the following year, many of the same issues are still on the table.”
Another stakeholder said the 2026 theme was particularly relevant to Nigeria because it directly challenged the country to move from policy formulation to implementation.
According to him, Nigeria has no shortage of maritime policies, committees, regulations and development plans, but the major challenge remains translating them into outcomes that operators, seafarers, importers, exporters and other participants in the maritime value chain can feel.
He said the annual World Maritime Day should provide an opportunity for government to publish a scorecard, showing progress made on critical maritime issues over the preceding year.
Such a scorecard, he said, could cover ship registration, seafarers’ employment, port efficiency, cargo dwell time, maritime safety, inland waterways transportation, shipbuilding, indigenous shipping capacity, wreck removal, maritime security, environmental protection and the development of Nigeria’s Blue Economy.
The stakeholder added that celebrating the day without measuring progress could make the occasion increasingly ceremonial, rather than developmental.
The concern is coming at a time when the Federal Government has repeatedly described the maritime sector as a major pillar of its economic diversification strategy and has established a dedicated Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to coordinate the sector.
Nigeria has also recorded developments that could have provided material for a national assessment of the sector, including the removal of the United States Coast Guard’s 12-year Condition of Entry on vessels that had visited Nigerian ports and continuing investments in port infrastructure and maritime security.
The development of Deep Seaports and other port projects also underscore the growing importance of Nigeria’s maritime infrastructure to the country’s trade and economic ambitions.
However, stakeholders said such developments would have greater significance, if they were accompanied by measurable improvements across the wider maritime value chain.
They argued that the real test of the “From Policy to Practice” 2026 theme should not be the quality of speeches delivered during a World Maritime Day ceremony, but whether policies adopted by government translate into lower costs, faster cargo clearance, improved safety, more jobs for Nigerian seafarers, greater participation of indigenous operators and increased contribution of the maritime sector to the national economy.
The unusual silence surrounding this year’s observance therefore presents an opportunity for government to reconsider the format and purpose of the annual celebration.
Rather than simply organising another ceremony whenever the celebration is eventually held, stakeholders said the Federal Government should use the occasion to present a comprehensive assessment of what has been achieved in Nigeria’s maritime sector, what remains outstanding and specific targets to be delivered before the next World Maritime Day.
For a sector that handles the overwhelming majority of Nigeria’s international trade, stakeholders said World Maritime Day should be more than an annual date on the maritime calendar.
They said it should be a day for Nigeria to account for its maritime policies, measure progress and demonstrate how government commitments are being translated into practical results.
