MV Ocean Dragon: NPA Advances ‘Nigeria First’ Indigenous Container Vessel AT Onne Port

Abubakar Dantsoho, Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has affirmed the Authority’s commitment to advancing indigenous shipping ownership in alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ‘Nigeria First’ policy.

Speaking at the historic maiden call of the fully Nigerian-owned container vessel, MV Ocean Dragon, at the West African Container Terminal, Onne Port Complex on July 31, 2025, Dantsoho highlighted the vessel’s significant features, including its 349 TEU capacity, emphasizing that its Nigerian ownership embodies the renewed hope inspired by President Tinubu’s policy and the NPA’s focus on Nigerian content development.

Dantsoho further noted that the vessel’s capability to efficiently move thousands of Gross Registered Tonnages across African ports in days aligns with international standards on multi-modal transport and seamless port-hinterland connectivity.

He expressed satisfaction that MV Ocean Dragon supports the NPA’s export facilitation through Export Processing Terminals designed to connect local producers to global markets.

Reassuring investors, Dantsoho stated that under the guidance of the investor-friendly Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, the NPA will continue to foster an enabling environment for ease of doing business to fully harness Nigeria’s maritime and blue economy potentials.

The MV Ocean Dragon is set to operate across ports in Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Egypt, South Africa, and beyond, marking a milestone for Nigerian maritime trade.