Ship owners in the country have decried the parlous state of infrastructure in the maritime sector, which according to them, is responsible for the loss of over $1 trillion annually.
Former president of the Shipowners Association of Nigeria, Greg Ogbeifun, stated this at the national discourse with Distinguished Maritime Personalities organised by Maritime Nigeria Limited, held in Lagos.
He said an estimated $1 trillion was lost every year in the entire shipping sector due to lack of vessels, infrastructure, human capacity, and cargo carriage.
“This country is losing close to N1tn in the entire shipping sector both infrastructure, human capacity, and cargo carriage,” he added.
Ogbeifun who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Starz Marine and Engineering Limited called on the private sector in the shipping subsector to establish platforms to help actualise the policies in the sector.
He extolled President Bola Tinubu for doing the right thing by separating the maritime industry from the Ministry of Transportation.
In a remark at the event, President of the Nigerian Indigenous Shipowners Association (NISA), Sola Adewunmi, represented by the Public Relations Officer, Gbolahan Adu, called on stakeholders in the maritime sector to make room for the younger generation of Nigerians to come into the sector.
