The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting indigenous ownership of shipping vessels in alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s ‘Nigeria First’ policy, marking a major milestone with the maiden call of MV Ocean Dragon—a wholly Nigerian-owned container vessel.
The vessel, owned by Clarion Shipping West Africa Limited, berthed at the West African Container Terminal (WACT) in the Onne Port Complex on Thursday, July 31, 2025.
With a capacity of 349 Twenty-Foot-Equivalent Units (TEUs), MV Ocean Dragon is set to operate along intra-African trade routes, strengthening Nigeria’s participation in short-sea shipping and multimodal logistics.
Managing Director, NPA, Abubakar Dantsoho, described the development as a landmark achievement in the country’s maritime history.
He said: “Apart from the high loading capacity of 349 TEUs and several other distinctive features of this vessel, we are fascinated that *MV Ocean Dragon is wholly Nigerian, which speaks to the Renewed Hope ‘Nigeria First’ policy of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR and the Nigerian Ports Authority’s renewed orientation towards Nigerian content development.”
Dantsoho highlighted the vessel’s capacity to enhance port-hinterland connectivity and regional logistics efficiency, in line with global standards.
“The very fact that this vessel, which can move thousands of Gross Registered Tonnages across African destinations within days, signposts Nigeria’s commitment to the dictates of the International Association for Ports and Harbours (IAPH) on multimodalism and seamless port-hinterland connectivity,” he added.
He noted that such developments underscore the NPA’s commitment to simplifying export processes through Export Processing Terminals (EPTs), which link remote value producers with international markets.
“This gives us great delight as it supports the rationale behind NPA’s simplified export processes through the EPTs conceptualized to link local producers of value in the remotest hinterland to the farthest international centres of demand,” he said.
