High seas to hinterland: Opportunities and challenges harnessing blue economy (1) 

BY EMMANUEL JIME

Emmanuel Jime is the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Shippers Council and presented this to the International Maritime Summit held in Lagos, recently.

According to the World Bank, the blue economy refers to the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth to improve livelihoods, create jobs, while preserving the health of the ocean ecosystem.

It supports the creation of value chains and can substantially contribute to the structural transformation of a nation’s economy.

The African Blue economy is made up of vast lakes, rivers and extensive ocean resource base. Thirty eight of the fifty five African states are coastal states.

More than 90 percent of Africa’s imports and exports are conducted by sea and some of the most strategic gateways for international trade are in Africa, this therefore underscores the importance of Africa in global shipping.

Africa’s aquatic and maritime space has remained largely unexploited but now being recognized for their potential contribution to inclusive and sustainable growth. The blue world is more than an economic space – it is part of Africa’s rich geographical, social and cultural canvas.

If well exploited, Africa’s Blue economy can constitute a major source of wealth and will catapult the continent’s fortunes.

There is an interrelated link between the Blue economy and the Brown economy (economy of the land). Seaports, jetties and river ports constitute an interface between the Blue economy and the brown economy.

Opportunities presented by the blue economy

The blue economy covers a wide-range of sectors and offers opportunities for sustainable, clean and equitable growth in both traditional and emerging sectors.

These include:

• Shipping and port facilities:  80% of global trade by volume  and 70% by value is moved by sea;

• Fisheries: globally, 350 million jobs are linked to marine fisheries; 90% of fishers are living in developing countries;

• Tourism: Tourism is a major industry; it constitutes 9% of global GDP; a large portion of global tourism is focused on coastal and marine environments; ship cruise is the fastest growing in the leisure industry.

• Aquaculture: this is the fastest growing food sector now providing more than 47% of fish for human consumption.

• Energy: In 2009, offshore fields accounted for 32% of global crude supply; estimated to increase to 34% in 2025 and higher % in subsequent years. The sea is a major source of wind and tidal energy.

• Biotechnology: Energy from sea produced from algal biofuel; potential drugs to be derived from marine bacteria.

• Submarine mining: exploration and exploitation of sea beds; due to rise in commodity prices, attention shifted to polymetallic nodules, cobalt crusts and massive sulphide deposits under sea.

• Other potential areas like maritime education, and scientific research, ship building and repair industry, maritime safety and navigation, development of maritime infrastructure and inland waterways.

As the Port Economic Regulator [in Nigeria], our emphasis is on the seaports and shipping sector of the blue economy.

Nigerian seaports and hinterland connectivity 

Nigeria with about 853 kilometres of coastline is vastly endowed and geographically positioned in the West African sub-region to maximise the inherent potentials of the blue economy within the region.

Indeed, seaports remain an integral part of freight transportation and they play major roles in a country’s development and prosperity. They are the nodes that link maritime and hinterland transport, by providing an interface for facilitating international trade. However, international trades are incomplete without the transportation of the goods/cargoes to the shipper’s warehouses, which are basically located in the hinterlands. Hence, seaports have become exceedingly reliant on inland transport and connectivity to improve port performances and efficiencies such as streamlining cargo transport by decreasing cargo dwell time, reducing port congestion and improving productivity and competition. These improvements can only be achieved and sustained through the provision of necessary infrastructure and coordination that will promote hinterland connectivity to the seaports.

Recently, seaports face many challenges that come along with cargo transportation, such as the increasing sizes of ships, which imposes higher pressure on ports in terms of yard space and capacity. This issue, amongst others, increases the need and importance of a robust and rational hinterland transport system that can easily accommodate the increasing throughput and indirectly addressing other issues related to port performance and productivity.

In other words, efficient hinterland connectivity will not only reduce port congestion, it will improve ship turnaround time and as well reduce the overall transportation cost. This will ultimately ensure that the port remains competitive and productive.

A few of the benefits of a robust hinterland connectivity to the seaport includes the following:

• Seamless cargo evacuation from the seaports

• Reduction in cargo dwell time at the port

• Improved ship turnaround time

• Reduction in port congestion etc.

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