In a historic milestone for Nigeria’s maritime industry, the first-ever Nigerian-owned container vessel, M.V. Ocean Dragon arrived last Wednesday at Tin Can Island Port, Lagos, carrying over 350 containers.
Speaking at the reception ceremony, Mrs. Benedine Eloka, Vice President of Clarion Shipping, highlighted the vessel’s arrival as the result of a long-term vision made possible through the collaboration of financial institutions and government agencies.
According to Eloka, Ocean Dragon is set to ease long-standing challenges faced by Nigerian importers and exporters, particularly those related to the movement of cargo within the country and across the West African sub-region.
“The vessel, with a capacity of 349 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs), is designed to offer a reliable alternative to trucking, which often causes delays and logistical bottlenecks,” she said.
Beyond domestic operations, the vessel is slated to service regional routes, including Cotonou, Lome, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and even extend to Egypt and South Africa.
“We already have confirmed bookings to Ghana and Lome. Additionally, a second vessel is scheduled to sail directly from China to Lagos to eliminate the delays caused by trans-shipment through multiple countries, a common issue with traditional shipping lines,” she added.
Eloka acknowledged that securing funding for the vessel’s acquisition was a major hurdle, but emphasized that the demand from clients in the region demonstrated a clear need for localized shipping services.
Echoing her remarks, Clarion Shipping’s Managing Director, Ms. Venessa Eloka, noted that the company identified a critical gap in West Africa’s short-sea shipping market and is committed to bridging it.
The Ocean Dragon, a Panama-flagged vessel, operates with a 16-member crew, 10 of whom is Nigerian and is captained by Indonesian national, Deddy Febriyanto.
