Nigeria’s Shipping Fleet Crumbles As CVFF Stalls Again
By FRED LONGJOHN OBEH
NIGERIA’S indigenous shipping fleet is edging toward collapse as the long-delayed Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF)—now estimated at more than $350 million—remains undisbursed despite repeated government assurances. Stakeholders say the fund, created in 2003 to finance vessel acquisition, has stagnated for nearly two decades while the fleet has shrunk from 24 vessels in 2005 to fewer than four by 2024, leaving foreign carriers to handle 95% of Nigeria’s maritime trade.
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, had promised disbursement by August 2025, yet five months later, no beneficiary has emerged. Industry experts warn that failure to release the fund is costing Nigeria an estimated $8 billion annually in lost freight revenue and leaving more than 4,000 trained seafarers jobless due to a lack of sea-time opportunities.
At the PortNews Summit in Lagos, analysts raised concerns that the CVFF may no longer be intact, alleging that successive administrations diverted the money for other government projects. Dr. Eugene Nweke of SEREC said the situation reflects governance failures, noting that “if the money exists, the government should show it—otherwise, where has it gone?”
Shipowners say they cannot meet the required 15% equity contribution for vessel purchases without the CVFF, while industry groups accuse the government of playing politics with a fund meant to strengthen local participation in maritime trade. Despite renewed pledges from NIMASA and the Marine and Blue Economy Ministry, shipowners’ confidence is fading, with many insisting the fund may not be recoverable.
