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Experts seek coastal shipping to cut Nigeria’s transport emissions – EnviroNews
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Some maritime experts have said that Nigeria could significantly reduce transport-related emissions by shifting more freight from roads to coastal shipping.
The experts, who spoke in separate interviews on Sunday, August 9, 2026, in Lagos, identified poor road-port-rail connectivity, weak infrastructure and fragmented policies as major barriers to the shift.
The President of the Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM), Capt. Tajudeen Alao, said coastal shipping could reduce emissions by up to five times compared with road haulage.
Alao said one vessel could take hundreds of trucks off the roads, reducing congestion, fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
He, however, said poor connectivity to ports and the lack of a coordinated national transport policy were limiting the environmental benefits of coastal shipping.
According to him, cabotage has largely been treated as an economic policy rather than a climate action, while government ministries and agencies operate in silos.
Alao noted that the 850-kilometre coastline and extensive inland waterways provided a 5strong platform for shifting freight from roads to waterways.
He said in spite of the country’s maritime advantage, a large volume of cargo was still transported by road, contributing to congestion, road damage and higher emissions.
“Global decarbonisation efforts are focusing heavily on alternative marine fuels such as ammonia and methanol, but the immediate opportunity to reduce emissions through modal shift is being overlooked,” he said.
Alao called for the development of a National Blue Transport Policy, supported by incentives, dedicated terminals and cargo guarantees to encourage indigenous operators.
Also, former President of the Nigeria Shipowners Association (NISA), Capt. Niyi Labinjo, said cabotage had received limited attention in global decarbonisation frameworks because international regulations largely focused on international shipping.
Labinjo said domestic shipping was not subject to some mandatory International Maritime Organisation (IMO) measures, while Nigeria’s cabotage policy had focused more on building indigenous capacity than reducing emissions.
He urged the government to combine long-term investment in cleaner fuels with immediate “no-regrets” measures, including shifting freight from road to sea and renewing ageing vessels.
Labinjo identified regulatory waivers, high vessel acquisition costs, inadequate green financing and poor waterways as major obstacles to the growth of cabotage and maritime decarbonisation.
He urged Nigeria to draw lessons from the European Union’s “Motorways of the Sea” initiative and Norway’s use of electrified ferries.
He also recommended linking disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) to measurable environmental targets.
Labinjo called for transparent CVFF disbursement, tax incentives for cleaner vessels, emissions pricing and cargo guarantees to attract private investment into coastal shipping.
He further urged the government to phase out ministerial waivers under Sections 9 to 11 of the Cabotage Act and prioritise CVFF support for environmentally friendly vessels built or operated by Nigerian interests.
Another member of NAMM, Capt. Femi Amusa, identified regulatory inconsistency, limited access to finance and inadequate coastal road to infrastructure as the three major barriers to the growth of cabotage.
Amusa said countries such as Norway, Japan and those in the European Union had successfully used coastal shipping to reduce road congestion and freight-related emissions.
He called for green shipping funds, carbon-credit incentives and digital port systems to attract investment into Nigeria’s coastal shipping sector.
Amusa described cabotage as a “low-hanging climate action”.
He stressed that shifting freight to waterways could deliver immediate environmental benefits while the country gradually transitioned to cleaner marine fuels.
By Aisha Cole
