Bayo Akomolafe 
A Nigerian-owned container vessel, Clarion MV Ocean Dragon has berthed at Tin Can Island Port to lift cargoes across Nigerian ports and West African trade corridors to deepen trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The Panama-flagged vessel, acquired by Clarion Shipping West Africa Limited was built in 2014, with a capacity of 349 Twenty Equivalent Units (TEUs).
The vessel, it was learnt, would enhance short-sea shipping and ply trade routes across Nigeria and the West African subregion, while providing alternative to road transport for cargo movement and strengthen trade in Africa, servicing ports in Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Egypt, South Africa and others.
At the unveiling of the vessel in Lagos on Wednesday, the Vice President, Clarion Shipping West Africa Limited, Bernadine Eloka, described the acquisition as a bold solution to the high-risk, road-dominated movement of cargo within Nigeria and a strategic move to deepen regional trade under the AfCFTA.
She noted that with Ocean Dragon in operation, Clarion Group aims to offer more efficient intra-African shipping services while opening up new business opportunities across ports in Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and beyond.
