Nigerian-Owned Container Vessel Makes Historic Call at Onne Port

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has welcomed the maiden call of a wholly Nigerian-owned container vessel, MV Ocean Dragon, at the West African Container Terminal in Onne Port Complex in Rivers State.

This milestone event highlights the success of President Bola Tinubu’s “Nigeria First” policy, which prioritizes national interests and promotes indigenous ownership in various sectors.

In a post on its official X handle on Thursday, NPA Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, expressed delight at the vessel’s arrival, saying; “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.”

Persecondnews reports that the MV Ocean Dragon, owned by Clarion Shipping West Africa Limited, has a capacity of 349 Twenty-Foot-Equivalent Units (TEUs) and will operate across West Africa and beyond, servicing ports in several countries, including Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Egypt, and South Africa.

This development is expected to boost trade volumes and provide an efficient alternative to road transport.

Dantsoho pointed out the significance of the vessel’s arrival, noting that “the coming on stream of MV Ocean Dragon to propel even greater volumes symbolizes the fact that the Nigerian business environment is progressively getting better.

“With shipping volumes promising to get higher, forward-looking investments such as the one we are gathered here to celebrate will certainly have a big impact in the long run.”

The NPA is committed to promoting the ease of doing business and optimizing the rich blue economy inherent in Nigeria’s maritime endowments, he said.

Dantsoho assured the global investment community that the authority will continue to galvanize stakeholder efforts to achieve these goals, under the supervision of the investor-friendly Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola.

This development aligns with the Nigerian government’s efforts to modernize its port infrastructure and promote economic growth.

The upgraded West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) in Onne Port Complex, which was recently commissioned, is a testament to this commitment.