Reforms in Nigeria’s maritime sector have delivered record quadrupled revenue while shielding businesses from arbitrary costs, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola has revealed on Sunday.
Presenting the ministry’s three-year scorecard in a statement by his Special Adviser, Dr Bolaji Akinola, Oyetola disclosed that revenues jumped 160 percent from ₦700.79 billion in 2023 to ₦1.83 trillion in 2025.
He further revealed that regulatory interventions and alternative dispute mechanisms saved port users over ₦86 billion in unjustified demurrage fees across nearly 300 resolved commercial disputes.
The Minister attributed the dual achievement to tighter revenue assurance, systematic elimination of financial leakages, and aggressive port digitisation under the new National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy approved in May 2025.
He stressed that eliminating unauthorised shipping charges and tightening foreign-exchange verification were vital to protecting private businesses and curbing capital flight.
The statement also noted that operational efficiency also received a significant boost through infrastructure upgrades across major gateways including Apapa, Tin Can Island, Onne, and Calabar. Traffic management innovations like the electronic truck call-up system and expanded barging helped Tin Can Island and Apapa ports rank 10th and 12th globally among the world’s most improved container ports, according to the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence.
These economic gains were reinforced by maritime security advances, with the Deep Blue Project maintaining zero piracy in territorial waters for four straight years. The security milestone eliminated war-risk surcharges for shipping lines, helped Nigeria regain its seat on the International Maritime Organization Category C Council, and led to the lifting of a 12-year United States Coast Guard restriction on vessels arriving from Nigerian ports.
On the domestic front, the reforms directly supported local operators and the maritime workforce. The Ministry commenced the disbursement process for the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, instituted a ₦200,000 monthly minimum wage for maritime workers, and drove an 80 percent increase in average seafarer earnings through expanded training and sea-time placements.
Oyetola maintained that these milestones demonstrate the sector’s shift from an untapped frontier to an active driver of national prosperity and sustainable economic growth.