Business
A Maritime and Energy Expert, Mr Atiemoria Ebhodaghe, says the maritime sector is vital to Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, as efficient marine logistics is key to achieving the country’s energy and economic ambitions.
Ebhodaghe, a Lead Strategic Consultant at Acepontis Ltd. in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Sunday in Abuja, described the maritime sector as the critical link connecting Nigeria’s offshore resources to the economy.
Ebhodaghe said that any disruption in marine logistics could halt upstream operations.
He said that though Nigeria had recorded progress in the energy sector, high transaction costs and operational inefficiencies continued to limit the maritime industry’s contribution to economic growth.
“In the upstream sector, marine logistics, including the deployment of tugboats, platform supply vessels and crew boats, is indispensable to offshore exploration and production activities.
“If we don’t have reliable marine logistics such as the prompt chartering and deployment of tugboats, platform supply vessels and crew boats, upstream production can come to a standstill.
“While the maritime sector is the crucial “link” to our offshore energy resources, its overall impact on the economy is currently held back by high transaction costs and operational challenges.
“We have made strides in our energy ambitions, but our resilience is still a work in progress,” the expert said.
On indigenous participation, Ebhodaghe said local firms had significantly improved their technical capacity, particularly in crewing and vessel operations, but still lagged behind foreign competitors in delivering integrated logistics solutions.
He said indigenous operators needed to embrace digital transformation by adopting predictive maintenance, Internet of Things (IoT)-driven systems and data management tools instead of focusing solely on vessel ownership.
According to him, stronger governance structures and digital capabilities will enable local firms to compete more effectively with foreign operators.
Speaking on financing, Ebhodaghe described access to affordable capital as the greatest challenge facing indigenous maritime operators.
He said the mismatch between long-term investment requirements and short-term, high-interest financing had constrained fleet expansion and technology upgrades.
Ebhodaghe, while commending the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, the Nigerian Export-Import Bank and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board for supporting indigenous operators, called for de-risked financing models, tailored to the maritime industry’s cash-flow cycle.
He also advocated asset-pooling and collaborative investment among indigenous firms to reduce financial pressure and improve competitiveness.
On the Federal Government’s target of building a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030, Ebhodaghe said the goal was achievable if the maritime sector was transformed into an integrated digital logistics corridor.
He urged government to fully digitalise port operations, automate customs and cargo processes, establish a unified maritime data platform and deploy AI-enabled vessel chartering systems.
He also called for greater investment in training seafarers and maritime professionals to operate advanced technologies.
Acepontis Ltd. serves as a bridge between challenges and solutions in the ever-volving marine, logistics and energy sectors.(NAN)
A.I
July 19, 2026
Tags: Mr Atiemoria Ebhodaghe