NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

The Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) has announced that come November, Lagos will witness the convergence of the biggest gathering of shipowners and maritime stakeholders at its first Shipping Expo. This is even as the group singled out the Niger Delta region as a hotbed for global maritime insecurity.

Disclosing this on Thursday in Lagos, President of SOAN, Dr Mkgeorge Onyung. revealed that the expo will address piracy, cargo financing and other salient issues bothering on Nigeria’s maritime and shipping industry.

According to the SOAN President, “the Lagos International Shipping Expo is coming up next month, in November. It’s a two-day event that will bring stakeholders in the maritime and shipping industry all over the world together, from Africa, Asia, Europe and lots more. The theme for this year’s event is Shipping, Global Economy and National Development.

“Shipping is a global trade which ferries over 90percent of goods that come into this country. We want to declare to the whole world that if you are not shipping, you are not shopping. Anybody that shops already has something to do with shipping.”

Also speaking at the media briefing, SOAN 1st Vice President, Mr Eno Williams explained that the Shipping Expo will expose what shipowners do and the challenges that confront the shipping business in Nigeria.

In his words, ” On that day, we want to show to the world, either through our guest speakers or the various exhibitions that will be on display, what we do as shipowners and the various challenges that confront us in our day-to-day business.

“The Niger Delta has been a case study as regards insecurity in Nigeria’s maritime domain. The Niger Delta remains one of the hotbeds of maritime insecurity globally, and this has shot up the cost of business for we, shipowners in Nigeria.”