The Maritime Researchers and Authors Association of Nigeria (MARASSON) said the road ahead of the port industry would be ‘rougher and bumpier’ in 2024, while calling for a total overhaul of the industry.

The maritime researchers stated this in their Christmas message made available to The Guardian. The National Executive Secretary, MARASSON, Ajanonwu Vincent, said 2023 has been the most “horrible” year in the political, economic and social history of the country, adding that “it has never been so bad, so hard and arms twisting for the nation’s port industry”. He said the research group visited all the shipping companies, seaport and bonded terminals during the year under review to know how the industry fared.

Giving a summary of their findings, Vincent said trade dropped by about 80 per cent, while almost all the bonded terminals have shut down with those that managed to survive operating at about 30 per cent of their installed capacity. Vincent said the researchers also found that some shipping companies have shut down, while others still in operation are down-sizing.

He said the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) declared a continuous increase in their revenue target and generation, while wondering about the secret of their magic.

Vincent said the greatest duty of stakeholders in the coming years will be to revive the country’s international and national/local trade. He said the past seven years have witnessed the greatest downtime in global trade due to the global economic recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, the anti-trade fiscal policies of the Federal Government and human weaknesses as seen in the anti-trade practices of the past Customs administration.

“All the shipping companies, shippers, consolidators, importers and exporters have a role to play in this project of trade revival. We must engage the Federal Government, the Federal Ministries of Finance, Trade and Investment, the Nigeria Customs Service, all the maritime institutions, interacting agencies, co-opted agencies and intervention agencies in this project,” he stated.

He said to ensure the Nigerian port industry and international trade bounces back from 2025 to 2027, all trade experts and professionals as well as maritime stakeholders must work together to make it successful.