Marine Mishaps Under-Reported, Stakeholders Raise Alarm

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s maritime sector are raising serious concerns over the continued under-reporting of marine accidents and incidents, warning that the lack of transparency poses a growing threat to safety, accountability, and investor confidence in the industry.

The alarm was raised at a recent maritime stakeholders’ engagement in Lagos, where key industry players decried the gap between actual incidents on Nigeria’s inland and coastal waterways and the number of officially documented cases.

Stakeholders have queried the Director General of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Captain Alex Badeh Jr., over the persistently low rate of marine incident reporting, describing it as a major setback to efforts aimed at strengthening safety enforcement on the nation’s waterways.

“If we don’t have accurate data, we cannot investigate. And if we can’t investigate, we can’t recommend safety measures that prevent reoccurrence,” DG was reported.

The report further revealed that Captain Badeh Jr. explained how many operators intentionally refrain from reporting incidents due to fears of regulatory sanctions or public backlash. He stressed that the NSIB’s mandate is preventive, not punitive, focused on conducting thorough investigations and issuing safety recommendations to avert future tragedies.

“We’re here to learn from incidents, not to assign blame. Reporting is the first step toward improvement,” DG added.

Industry observers say the consequences of poor reporting are severe. Maritime legal expert noted that the absence of data hinders both regulatory oversight and informed policymaking.

“Under-reporting doesn’t just hide the problem, it deepens it. You can’t fix what you don’t acknowledge.”

To address the challenge, NSIB has reported launched a series of capacity-building programmes and public awareness campaigns to educate stakeholders, including boat operators, coastal communities, and shipping companies, on the importance of timely incident reporting.

Badeh revealed that efforts are underway to integrate technology into NSIB’s operations to enable easier reporting and more effective investigations.

Stakeholders also called on the Federal Government to review existing maritime safety laws, strengthen enforcement mechanisms, and promote greater inter-agency collaboration to support NSIB’s mandate.

As Nigeria continues to invest in the blue economy, experts warn that safety must remain a top priority, and that begins with breaking the silence around marine mishaps.

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