Shipping operators have said the launch of the Sierra Leone Ocean Shipping Company (SLOSCo) offers lessons for Nigeria, which has yet to revive its national carrier despite repeated government commitments.

The operators said the launch demonstrated the country’s determination to stop depending predominantly on foreign-owned vessels to transport its imports and exports, reclaim a greater share of global shipping and retain freight earnings within its economy.

Speaking during a media interaction in Lagos, the Africa Shipowners Association (ASA), Nigeria, represented by the immediate past president, Captain Ladi Olubowale, said the Sierra Leone initiative demonstrated the importance of political commitment, effective legislation and strategic partnerships in establishing a sustainable national shipping line.

Olubowale said Sierra Leone’s initiative followed a structured process, beginning with the passage of the Sierra Leone National Shipping Agency Act in 2025, which transformed the former Sierra Leone National Shipping Company, established in 1972, into an agency authorised to serve as the country’s national carrier for international trade.

According to him, the agency assumed the assets and liabilities of the former company and the earlier national carrier venture, noting that in August 2026, Parliament ratified a joint venture agreement between the agency and Chinese firm Zhejiang Xiehai Group, paving the way for SLOSCo’s establishment, which officially launched two months later.

Olubowale, who is the Group Managing Director of Seamate Maritime Services Limited, said the company’s long-term success would depend on its ability to attract cargo, operate efficiently and withstand commercial pressures, but described its establishment as a positive example for other African countries.

The shipping operator said Nigeria should learn from Sierra Leone’s approach as it seeks to revive its own national carrier, recalling that the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) once operated about 30 ocean-going vessels.

Olubowale said its collapse resulted in substantial lost freight earnings to foreign shipping companies, estimated by industry sources at between $8 billion and $9 billion yearly and reduced national shipping capacity.

The shipping operator cited the Federal Government’s efforts to revive a national carrier, announced in April 2026 by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, including interest from DP World and AD Ports Group.

He noted that previous administrations had made similar promises without delivering a functioning national fleet, saying “Until a vessel flies the flag of a Nigerian national carrier, the announcement remains an announcement.”

Olubowale also identified the delayed disbursement of the $700 million Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), which has remained largely inaccessible to intended beneficiaries for more than two decades, as a major obstacle to developing indigenous shipping capacity.

He warned that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) would struggle to realise its full potential if goods traded between African countries continued to depend on foreign-owned ships and routes through European and Asian hubs.

The shipping operator called on the Nigerian government to pursue a West African shipping alliance, noting that the country’s cargo volumes could support commercially viable routes, while Sierra Leone could contribute emerging carriers, strategic ports and international partnerships.

Olubowale identified Freetown’s natural harbour as an important regional asset and proposed an African-owned shipping network connecting Lagos, Freetown, Accra, Abidjan and Dakar through shared vessels, coordinated schedules and feeder services.

The shipping operator urged Nigeria to open talks with SLOSCo and other regional operators on vessel-sharing agreements and common routes under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).