The Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC) has warned that 2026 will be a defining year for Nigeria’s maritime industry, as the sector stands at a critical juncture where long-standing policy declarations must finally translate into measurable performance, reduced costs and global competitiveness.
This position was outlined in SEREC’s Public New Year Maritime Outlook Communiqué for 2026, released on December 30, 2025, following a comprehensive, data driven review of industry performance in 2025 and strategic expectations for the year ahead.
According to the Centre, 2025 was largely a transition and recalibration year, characterised by institutional repositioning under the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, early stage reforms, improved international visibility and persistent macroeconomic pressures, particularly foreign exchange instability.
On port automation, SEREC observed that while reforms were widely articulated, implementation lagged behind policy intent. As at the end of 2025, Nigeria operated over 15 trade-related digital platforms across port agencies with limited interoperability, while human interface still accounted for about 60–70 per cent of cargo clearance processes, far above regional benchmarks.
The Centre noted that the National Single Window (NSW) project remained at pilot and coordination stages, delaying anticipated reductions in clearance time, transaction costs and informal charges that are critical to improving port competitiveness.
SEREC described the Nigeria Customs Service’s migration from NICIS II to the B’Odogwu platform as the most significant trade facilitation development of 2025. Although the transition caused short-term disruptions, including system downtime and clearance delays of up to 10–20 per cent in some commands, it introduced structural gains such as non-intrusive inspection scanners, strengthened Post Clearance Audit and expanded AEO implementation.
SEREC reported modest efficiency improvements, with ship turnaround time in Lagos ports improving by an estimated 10–15 per cent due largely to better access roads and reduced truck congestion. However, Nigerian ports still lagged behind regional peers, with vessel turnaround averaging 5–7 days, compared to 2–3 days in Lome and 3–4 days in Tema.
Cargo dwell time remained a major challenge, averaging 10–18 days, while truck turnaround time recorded one of the most notable gains, improving from 3–5 days in the pre-ETO era to 24–48 hours in controlled corridors, despite relatively high logistics and call-up costs.
SEREC highlighted Nigeria’s continued compliance with key IMO instruments, noting that zero piracy incidents against commercial vessels were officially recorded within Nigeria’s maritime domain and the wider Gulf of Guinea in 2025, strengthening the country’s international maritime profile.
The Centre identified the high cost of doing business, weak intermodal transport integration and foreign exchange volatility as major constraints, warning that unless these issues are addressed, investor confidence will remain cautious and Nigeria’s aspiration for regional maritime dominance will remain elusive.
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