Maritime expert and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Kamany Marine Services Limited, Dr. Charles Okorefe, has challenged maritime journalists to move beyond routine news reporting and press conference coverage, urging them to embrace innovative and investigative approaches capable of holding industry operators and regulators accountable.
Okorefe made the call on Friday while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Maritime Training Summit of the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON), held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, Lagos.
Speaking on the theme, “The Power of Innovation in a Future-Ready Maritime Training Agenda,” he said innovation had become imperative for Nigeria to overcome persistent challenges in the maritime sector and compete effectively with leading maritime nations.
The maritime expert urged journalists to use their professional platforms to interrogate policies, practices and developments within the industry, stressing that their responsibility should extend beyond reporting events to influencing positive change.
“Simply churning out news reports and covering press conferences is no longer sufficient to actualise the change we are talking about,” he said.
Okorefe urged members of AMJON to ask difficult and uncomfortable questions within the bounds of professional journalism while maintaining objectivity, candour, efficient reportage and courage.
“You must begin to ask the very difficult and uncomfortable questions within the ambit of your professional calling, laced with objectivity, candour, efficient reportage and courage,” he said.
According to him, maritime journalists have a major responsibility to keep industry players and operators on their toes and ensure that their activities contribute meaningfully to the growth and development of the sector.
He described exclusive stories, or scoops, as the cutting edge of journalism, urging maritime correspondents to develop innovative approaches that would enable them to uncover developments beyond what is routinely presented at official events.
“Scoops are always very difficult to come by, yet they represent the cutting-edge of journalism. Be innovative so that you can be scoop compliant,” he added.
On the broader maritime industry,
Okorefe said Nigeria’s position as a major player in West and Central African shipping and maritime trade placed a greater responsibility on the country to pursue global competitiveness.
He noted that Nigeria commands a significant share of international shipping and maritime trade in the sub-region and plays an important role in maritime security within the Gulf of Guinea.
He, however, questioned whether the country was doing enough to fully exploit its maritime resources and respond proactively to the rapid technological and digital disruptions transforming the global maritime industry.
Okorefe said the emergence of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy had raised expectations about Nigeria’s ability to harness its extensive coastline, inland waterways and Exclusive Economic Zone for sustainable economic development.
He identified fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, maritime transport, shipping and port operations, renewable energy, biotechnology and coastal infrastructure as areas with significant opportunities under the Blue Economy.
The maritime expert also urged stakeholders to pay closer attention to international frameworks and conventions, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), MARPOL, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He said these instruments could provide important frameworks for unlocking new opportunities and strengthening Nigeria’s participation in the global maritime economy.
Okorefe further stressed that Nigeria’s maritime future would increasingly depend on its ability to embrace disruptive technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, the Internet of Things, robotics and big data.
He also called for greater investment in infrastructure, research and development and human capital, noting that technology alone would not deliver the desired transformation without a skilled workforce capable of deploying it effectively.
He maintained that the traditional ways of doing things could no longer provide the solutions required to address the complex challenges confronting the maritime industry.
“The time to act is now,” Okorefe said, urging maritime stakeholders, including journalists, regulators and industry operators, to embrace innovation as a critical tool for building a competitive and future-ready maritime sector.
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