By Grace Edet

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has approved the appointment of Barr. Adenike Adeyele Iyelolu as the Registrar of Ships for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Her appointment, which is for a four-year tenure, follows the recommendation of the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dayo Mobereola.
In line with the NIMASA Act 2007, the Registrar of Ships will report directly to the Director General for the effective administration of the Nigerian Ship Registry.
The Act provides that “the Registrar of Ships shall, with the approval of the Minister, be appointed by the Director General from among the staff of the Agency.”
Iyelolu who is currently a Deputy Director in the employ of NIMASA is an accomplished legal and maritime governance professional with over twenty-five (25) years of post-call experience spanning maritime and legal practice, arbitration, procurement, contract administration, corporate governance, and institutional leadership amongst others.
Barr. Iyelolu’s appointment comes following the retirement of the former Registrar of Ships, Barr. Tajudeen Giwa, after years of commendable service.

By Grace Edet

The country risks losing competitiveness in global trade unless it urgently modernises its multimodal transport laws, strengthens enforcement systems, and improves inter-agency coordination, maritime industry stakeholders and legal experts have warned.
The concerns were raised at the 16th Annual Lecture and AGM of the Nigerian Maritime Law Association (NMLA) in Lagos, where regulators, maritime lawyers, security officials and policymakers examined the legal gaps slowing Nigeria’s logistics and Blue Economy ambitions.
The event, themed “The Future of Multimodal Transportation in Global Trade”, focused on evolving carriage regimes and the urgent need for legal certainty.
NMLA President, Funke Agbor (SAN), said the gathering reflects the industry’s growing resolve to address outdated frameworks. She described it as a “rich congregation of ideas, bridging theory and practice, strengthening our profession’s capacity and reinforcing the role of maritime law within Nigeria’s dynamic and growing maritime industry.”
According to her, Nigerian maritime laws must be “fit for purpose, modern, integrated and enforceable.”
Delivering the keynote on behalf of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, Oyindamola Ade-Alli of the Lagos State Waterways Authority warned that the country’s transport systems are evolving faster than the laws guiding them.
Oduwole noted that “Transport systems across sea, road, air, rail, and inland waterways are evolving faster than the legal frameworks that support them. As maritime lawyers and policymakers, we must bridge this gap.”
She stressed that Nigeria’s Blue Economy aspirations—including ports, maritime services, inland waterways, fisheries, and offshore activities—depend heavily on investor-friendly and technology-enabled legislation. Citing the Rotterdam Rules as a model, Oduwole called for a framework that supports single multimodal contracts, electronic documentation, fair liability structures, and transparent enforcement.
Enforcement, she said, must be “transparent, predictable and technologically enabled.”
During a panel session moderated by Michael Abiiba of Bloomfield LP, participants dissected the country’s fragmented transport laws.
Bankole Sodipo (SAN) criticised the lack of a unified multimodal framework.
“We have issues such as lack of a single policy framework. Sometimes, who is going to be in charge is unclear,” he noted, warning that multiple laws across air, rail, road and maritime sectors create liability confusion.
Deputy Director of Legal Services at NIMASA, Aderonke Adekanye, said the Agency recognises the challenge and is working to strengthen collaboration. She emphasised that effective multimodal policy execution requires alignment with existing federal policies and deeper cooperation among regulators.
On judicial interpretation, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji of the Federal High Court noted that the court has broad jurisdiction but faces uncertainty arising from the absence of a comprehensive law.
“Even though there is no tough court here, our jurisdiction extends from the time goods are placed on the ship to delivery to the consignee, whether or not there is an intervening land transportation,” he explained, urging judicial activism to bridge legal gaps.
AIG Chinedu Oko of the Marine Police outlined enforcement setbacks, including weak prosecution, cargo theft, and logistical constraints. He stressed the need for improved training and inter-agency synergy.
“One of the best ways to tackle this issue is to ensure personnel are trained on evidence gathering, from when we get to the crime scene to how we handle and present evidence,” he said.
Stakeholders agreed that Nigeria’s future in global trade and economic development depends not only on infrastructure but also on robust legal frameworks, clear carriage regimes, effective enforcement, and technology adoption.

• MAN graduates 221
• Academy mulls MoU with NSML, Ghana’s Regional Maritime University

Over 80 graduating cadets who recently bagged Higher National Diploma (HND)and National Diploma (ND) from the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) Oron in Akwa Ibom State, got instant job offers and sea time training opportunities on Thursday November 13, 2025 at the Academy’s graduation ceremony .
President of the Shipowners Association of Nigeria(SOAN), Mr Sonny Eja, announced a total of 55 sea time training opportunities for the cadets drawn across various disciplines and levels. According to Eja, 50 of the training slots were offered by the SOAN while five others were engaged by Petromarine Nigeria Ltd,
At the ceremony, Greg Ogbeifun, CEO of Starzs Shipyard announced instant employments for four outstanding graduates with cash rewards of ₦1m each while Aminu Umar , CEO of Sea Transport Services Nigeria Limited also offered jobs and cash gifts of ₦250,000 to eight outstanding cadets
Umar who was represented by Musa Ado Ibn-Saidu, the company’s head of Corporate Services reiterated their commitment to promoting maritime manpower development in Nigeria.
Other organisations that supported the graduating cadets were Arion Energy Services Limited, Bricks Ltd and the Alumni Association of Maritime Academy Oron (AMANO).
Acting Rector, Dr Kevin Okonna who commended members of the nation’s maritime community for their usual support also restated his leadership thrust of confidence building through quality training and promotion of staff welfare
Okonna announced that for the first time in the history of the Academy, approval for the Staff Conditions of Service has successfully been completed and obtained from the Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF), signifying a major milestone towards the Academy’s effort to attract and retain rare and skilled professionals .
Dr. Kevin Okonna, while delivering his welcome address at the 2025 Cadet’ Graduation Ceremony on 13th November, 2025 , disclosed that over the past year the institution has ensured operational steadiness in the face of several activities of detractors, strengthened governance and ensured that core training activities run consistently and professionally so that teaching and learning continues to flourish in line with the provisions of international standards..
According to him, a cornerstone of MAN’s strategy has been an unyielding focus on quality assurance and the provision of world-class training and certification. He said that the Academy has completed Stage One of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) quality audit and is preparing diligently for Stage Two as it moves toward certification of its standards in line with ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System) and ISO 21001:2025 (Educational Organizational Management System (EOMS)).
While highlighting the Command’s achievements in the past one year, he said the Academy has restored reasonably steady public power supply to the Academy and the Oron community after over eight years, all the cadets and students hostel solar power facilities have been rehabilitated and insstalled for 24 hours power supply and all the cadets have been registered with at least one international professional association, including the Nautical Institute, UK, IMarEST, UK and CILT Nigeria.
According to Okonna, the Nautical Institute has established the Nautical Institute Prize for the Best Graduating cadet in HND Nautical Science, including award certificate and money in British Pounds for Nautical Science publications of the winners choice.
In addition , he stated that the Academy has a Memorandum of Agreement with the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Nigeria, for student and associate member categories and further capacity building of all our cadets in the School of Maritime Transport Studies (SMTS).
The Academy is working very hard to provide the STCW Convention-required onboard training opportunities for seafaring cadets of the Academy.
The Rector stated that the Academy is working very hard to strengthen its partnership with the NLNG Shipping and Marine Services Limited (NSML) for the provision of onboard ship training for cadets of the Academy as well as many other services that will lead to greater international opportunities for the cadets in the Academy. He expressed his gratitude to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola for his leadership.
He informed that the Academy is at advanced stage of establishing a robust partnership with the Regional Maritime University (RMU), Ghana for collaboration in a broad area of common interest for the development of MET & extend to Certification in collaboration with it’s Administrations.
The graduation of 221 cadets, according to him, is fit for purpose, and ready for their excellent contributions to the Marine and Blue Economy sector.
“I am equally delighted to inform you that, in line with the statutory mandate of the Academy, between Monday 10th and Tuesday, 11th November, 2025, we hosted the a team of Independent Evaluators from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in the Academy for Independent Evaluation of Nigeria’s compliance with the Provisions of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 (as amended).
“Some seatime offers are going to be announced by frontline ship-owning partners ,including Starzs Investment Limited, Sea Transport Services Nigeria Ltd, and Arion Energy Services Ltd. The Academy has signed an MOU with Abuja MoU on Port State Control in West and Central Africa for provision of PSCOs course in the Academy. The Course has been approved by NIMASA and the instructors have been provided further training abroad and the Academy is ready to commence the training.
“The graduating class embodies the Academy’s standards of discipline, technical competence, and professionalism. All the graduands have successfully met the Academy’s academic and practical requirements and are now qualified to progress in their careers to seafarers certification and employment as well as maritime professionals in the global maritime industry. I recommend them to you, stake holders, for employment and mentorship in the interest of the future of our treasured marine and blue economy.”, he said.