Stakeholders have urged operators to invest in transshipment services, bunkering, ship repair and fresh water supply to turn ports into one-stop maritime hubs if Nigeria must secure a fair share of contestable cargo in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) regime.

The call was made at the Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM) yearly general meeting (AGM) and Summit, themed: “Preparing Nigerian Ports for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) Operations: Beyond Infrastructure to Institutional Readiness,” held in Lagos.

Former General Manager, Marine, at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Captain Iheanacho Ebubeogu, pointed to the AfCFTA as a prize for ports that deliver, stressing that tariff cuts alone will not move goods without infrastructure.

He acknowledged that execution will present challenges, including temporary berth losses and construction-related congestion, calling for coordinated phasing and clear mitigation plans among regulators and concessionaires.

The master mariner maintained that Nigeria’s maritime industry must move quickly from policy announcements to visible results on the quayside, or watch contestable cargo drift to rival West African ports

Ebubeogu, who presented a paper titled “Port Stimulus and Economic Growth: The Nigerian Experience,” explained that ports earn their keep from cargo, which falls into two categories.

He said the captive cargo originates from or is destined for a port’s immediate hinterland and stays because alternatives are impractical, while contestable cargo is discretionary freight that moves to competing ports on price or service, which he said rewards efficiency and punishes delay.

According to him, the risks are real because Nigeria’s legacy ports were built about 70 years ago, and years of underinvestment have left shallow channels, heavy congestion and slow, paper-heavy clearance processes.

He noted that high handling costs and delays have already driven some importers and exporters to neighbouring countries, resulting in significant revenue losses.

A master mariner, Captain Olugbenga Abidoye, who presented a paper, titled: “Preparing Nigerian Ports for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) Operations: Beyond Infrastructure to Institutional Readiness,” said Nigeria’s ports were not yet ready to accommodate crewless vessels, citing a significant readiness gap.

He said Nigeria scored 1.9 out of five in a port-readiness assessment for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), noting that autonomous vessels are already operating elsewhere in the world.

Abidoye said preparation rests on four areas: physical infrastructure, digital systems, institutional capacity and operational procedures, warning that weak coordination among maritime agencies and gaps in existing rules could complicate the arrival of autonomous vessels.

Abidoye, however, called for a review of the Merchant Shipping Act 2007, with clear procedures for emergencies, communication failures and remote vessel operations.

He said the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is working towards a mandatory framework for autonomous ships by July 2032, noting that its readiness would be vital to Nigeria’s competitiveness.