‘Full digitisation key to unlocking Nigeria’s blue economy’

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Stakeholders in the marine sector have said the full adoption of digital technology will ease operations around the country’s seaports.

They agreed on this at a conference organised by Nigeria Institution of Maritime Engineers and Naval Architects in Port Harcourt.

They said that despite Nigeria hosting some of the busiest ports, delays and inefficiencies have become persistent.

Senior Special Assistant on Marine and Blue Economy to the Ondo State Government, Dr Aladenusi Olugbemiro, while delivering his keynote address at the conference on the theme ‘Digital Maritime Transformation and Smart Solutions: A Pathway to the Advancement of Nigeria’s Blue Economy,’ said a shift from analogue systems to digital, data-driven maritime operations has become the driving force of global maritime practice.

He said it was time for Nigeria to take advantage of the opportunity to unlock the full potential of its blue economy.

Olugbemiro noted that issues of delays, port congestion, slow documentation process, all contribute to economic losses.

“For years, our maritime sector has struggled with port congestion, manual processes, security risks, and aging infrastructure. These issues weaken competitiveness and limit our economic growth. Digital transformation offers practical, proven solutions. Automated traffic systems can ease congestion.

“Smart documentation can eliminate delays. Real-time vessel monitoring can improve safety. And integrated port systems can strengthen trade efficiency and attract investment.  Nigeria cannot achieve a modern Blue Economy on analogue foundations, “ he insisted.

On his part, Eferebo Sylvanus, National Chairman of NIMENA, called for a clear national policy on blue economy, standardisation and full marine sovereignty to drive the sector.

Sylvanus said the sector has the capacity to create enormous wealth and jobs for the country.

“Nigeria has huge human capital population, it’s now for us to have a structured pathway towards harnessing it. We must also have a national vision for our maritime sector.

“We must come to a round table and fashion out a vision that will now help us to frame our policies better.

“To unlock the potentials, we have to be sovereign. We are a sovereign nation but we are not sovereign technically. We still depend on technical expertise from foreign nations, so we cannot even standardise our tools, we cannot certify our tools, for us to have our engineers or cadets on board, they have to get foreign certification. “

In his address to the conference, President of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, Saddiq Abubakar, noted that the Nigerian maritime dormain plays a significant role in trade, logistics and energy exports, naval defence and blue economy development but.

He said despite this strategic position, Nigeria’s maritime capacity is constrained by the proliferation of substandard marine engines and equipment, poor maintenance culture and high failure rates of marine machineries, inadequate shipyard capabilities and limited local contents.

Abubakar, highlighted some benefits of standardization to Nigeria’s blue economy to include improved durability of Nigerian-built vessels, expansion of local export potentials to local shipyards and reduce maintenance cost.

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