The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has stepped up its crackdown on maritime operators who violate Nigeria’s Cabotage regulations, detaining four vessels in Lagos waters as part of a renewed drive to protect indigenous participation in the country’s coastal shipping trade.
The vessels, identified as MT HOLMES, MT FUJAIRAH ENERGY, JS GRATITUDE and MT BORA, were arrested during a targeted enforcement operation codenamed Operation Sea Guardian.
NIMASA said some of the detained vessels have since been released after their operators regularised the identified infractions.
The operation signals a tougher approach by the Agency towards enforcing compliance with maritime regulations, particularly the provisions of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act designed to promote Nigerian ownership, employment and participation in domestic shipping.
According to NIMASA, Operation Sea Guardian was conducted to verify compliance with Cabotage requirements, assess the payment of applicable surcharges and levies, and ensure that vessels operating within Nigerian waters meet the country’s maritime regulatory standards.
The exercise relied on intelligence reports and surveillance profiling to identify vessels suspected of failing to meet their statutory obligations. Enforcement teams subsequently tracked, boarded and inspected the vessels to establish their operational status and level of compliance.
The operation also involved the deployment of assets under the Deep Blue Project, with personnel from NIMASA, the Nigerian Navy, the Maritime Guard Command and C4i intelligence teams working together to carry out the inspections.
NIMASA explained that vessels considered to be at high risk of violating Cabotage requirements were identified through intelligence gathering and added to a Target Bank established during an earlier enforcement exercise.
The database provides a central record of vessels of interest and helps enforcement teams focus their resources on operators suspected of non-compliance.
Reacting to the operation, NIMASA Director-General, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, said the Agency would intensify enforcement and ensure that operators who disregard the law face appropriate sanctions.
He stressed that the exercise was part of the Agency’s commitment to implementing its earlier warning on stricter enforcement of indigenous participation in Nigeria’s coastal and inland shipping trade.
“We had earlier served notice of enhanced enforcement of indigenous participation in our coastal and inland trade, and this is exactly what we are doing. It is therefore in the interest of operators to ensure total compliance because defaulters will be visited with stiff sanctions in line with the law,” Mobereola said.
The latest operation follows a Marine Notice issued by NIMASA on August 26, 2026, reminding stakeholders of the statutory requirements for participating in Cabotage trade.
The notice outlined the conditions governing vessel ownership, registration, manning and construction, while warning vessel owners, operators, charterers and other stakeholders against violating the Cabotage Act and its implementing regulations.
Under the law, vessels engaged in Cabotage operations are generally required to meet applicable Nigerian ownership and registration requirements, be manned by Nigerian citizens and be built in Nigeria, subject to the statutory conditions and exceptions provided for under the framework.
The regulations are intended to strengthen local capacity, create employment opportunities for Nigerians and ensure that domestic shipping activities deliver greater economic benefits to the country.
For NIMASA, the enforcement drive is about more than detaining vessels. It is also a means of ensuring that companies operating in Nigeria’s maritime space respect the rules designed to give indigenous shipowners, seafarers and maritime businesses a stronger foothold in the industry.
With Mobereola warning that enforcement operations will become more frequent, maritime operators have been urged to review their compliance status and ensure that all required certificates, registrations, licences and payments are up to date.