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Türkiye and Nigeria are accelerating maritime cooperation aimed at developing domestic ship production, modernizing Nigeria’s fleet, and expanding the country’s blue economy through long-term industrial partnerships.
The initiative gained momentum following Nigerian President Ahmed Tinubu’s visit to Türkiye earlier this year, shifting bilateral trade discussions from ship exports toward joint production, technology transfer, maintenance, operations and engineering partnerships.
Nigeria aims to position Turkish shipyards as long-term partners in building local manufacturing capacity and establishing the country as a regional maritime production hub.
The Nigeria-Türkiye Business Council and digital platform DAMISE have supported ongoing talks focused on joint production, fleet modernization, technology transfer and expanded inland waterway transportation.
Nigeria’s Marine and Blue Economy Ministry urged Turkish shipyards to consider the country a production center with access to the wider African Continental Free Trade Area.
The Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority also invited Turkish shipyards and technology companies to establish public-private partnerships to develop vessels and ferry terminals along the country’s 3,000 kilometers, or 1,864.1 miles, of navigable waterways.
The planned cooperation will focus on fishing vessels, offshore support craft, ship repair facilities and inland waterway transport systems.
Türkiye’s global ship exports increased from $900 million in 2018 to $3 billion in 2025, placing the country among the world’s top 10 shipbuilding nations.
Türkiye has about 85 active shipyards, a fleet of more than 2,270 vessels and extensive maritime education infrastructure.
Nigeria’s ship imports, meanwhile, declined from $3.4 billion to about $500 million during the same period as the country sought to replace its import-dependent model with domestic manufacturing.
Nigeria’s Cabotage Law supports foreign partnerships by offering operational and commercial benefits to vessels built, owned and operated in the country.
Turkish companies could use the model to serve Nigeria and the wider West African market through production, maintenance and operational partnerships with Nigerian firms.
The bilateral initiative is also expected to expand into maritime decarbonization, the industry’s green transition, technical workforce training, and joint financing models.
Meetings scheduled for July 30 will seek to match the capabilities of Turkish shipyards with Nigeria’s fleet modernization requirements.
A separate session on financing and workforce capacity is planned for Aug. 5.
The framework for the 2027 Maritime Cooperation Roadmap is expected to be announced after the meetings conclude.
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