Nigeria’s struggle to build a competitive indigenous shipping fleet will take centre stage in October when shipowners, regulators and lenders gather in Lagos to discuss the financing and policy constraints that have left foreign operators dominant in the country’s maritime trade.
The Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN) said its 2026 summit, scheduled for October 29 at Rockview Hotels, Apapa, will focus on how to improve access to capital for local vessel operators amid persistent complaints about high borrowing costs, limited long-term financing and regulatory obstacles.
The theme of the summit is “Low-Risk Capital for Indigenous Shipowners: Overcoming Regulatory, Financial Bottlenecks.”
The discussions come as indigenous operators continue to push for greater access to funding in a sector where vessel acquisition requires significant capital outlay and financing remains scarce. Industry stakeholders have long argued that these constraints have prevented Nigerian-owned companies from taking advantage of cargo generated by Africa’s largest economy.
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