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Apex News > Maritime > NPA Celebrates Berthing Of MV Ocean Dragon, First Wholly Nigerian-Owned Container Vessel 
Maritime

NPA Celebrates Berthing Of MV Ocean Dragon, First Wholly Nigerian-Owned Container Vessel 

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Last updated: 2025/07/05 at 12:19 AM
19 hours ago 4 Min Read
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MV Ocean Dragon
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has said that  in a development that signposted readiness to maximize the gains derivable from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), it has on July 2, 2025, at 5:05 am, deployed its state-of-the-art marine crafts to berth the first wholly Nigerian-owned container vessel.
The container vessel with International Maritime Organization (IMO) number 9508770 christened MV Ocean Dragon is owned by Clarion Shipping West Africa Limited, with a capacity of 349 Twenty-Foot-Equivalent Units (TEUs).
This has given a boost to concerted investment drive geared towards reaping the cost and time saving benefits of short-sea shipping by plying in-country maritime trade routes across Nigeria and the West African sub-region and offers an efficient alternative to road transport as the Authority’s efforts at deepening multi modalism crystallize.
The vessel is scheduled to operate across West Africa and beyond, servicing ports in Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Egypt, South Africa and others, with expressions of interest for business already being established.
Responding to the milestone, Managing Director/ CEO of the NPA Abubakar Dantsoho said “this development is a testament to our relentless commitment towards deepening efficiencies required for maximizing our marine and blue economy potentials in line with the prompting of the Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, whose tenacity of purpose culminated in the recent FEC approval of the national policy on Marine and Blue Economy.”
On her part, Vice President of Clarion Shipping West Africa Limited, Bernadine Eloka, described the acquisition as a bold solution to the high-risk, road-dominated movement of cargoes within Nigeria and a strategic move to deepen regional trade under the AfCFTA.
She said that the Clarion Group aimed to offer more efficient intra-African shipping services while opening up new business opportunities across ports in Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and beyond.

Abubakar Dantsoho, Managing Director/ CEO of the NPA
“We acquired MV Ocean Dragon to offer a seamless alternative to container haulage by road. Rather than struggling to move containers from Lekki to Onitsha, Port Harcourt, or Calabar by trucks, Ocean Dragon can move up to 349 containers by sea and deliver within two days from port to port,” Eloka said.
According to her, enforcement of the cabotage regime would encourage local investment, create jobs, and reduce Nigeria’s dependency on foreign-owned shipping lines.
Also, Managing Director of Clarion Suncity Terminal Logistics Limited, Mustafa Mohammed, said the company would take aggressive steps to compete with global giants, such as Maersk Line and MSC, by leveraging its status as Nigeria’s first indigenous shipping liner, investing in assets that directly support Nigerian exporters and importers, particularly in the landlocked regions.
He said the company had already secured bookings for 1,300 export containers, which is helping farmers and manufacturers to avoid losses caused by delays and lack of containers.
This development is coming on the heels of the announcement by the MD NPA Abubakar Dantsoho of fresh injection of 60 million USD in fresh investments towards the establishment of eco-friendly ports developments catalyzed by the Authority’s renewed orientation towards Nigerian content development.

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TAGGED: Adegboyega Oyetola, African Continental Free Trade Area, Bernadine Eloka, Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, International Maritime Organization, Managing Director of Clarion Suncity Terminal Logistics Limited, Managing Director/ CEO of the NPA Abubakar Dantsoho, Mustafa Mohammed, MV Ocean Dragon, Nigerian Ports Authority, Vice President of Clarion Shipping West Africa Limited
Admin July 5, 2025
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