Dry-Docking Technologies:

Assessment and Perspective in the Nigeria Maritime Sector.

Abstract

The study presents a detailed review of dry-docking practices in Nigeria and some selected maritime countries. Drydocking is a critical operation for the inspection, maintenance, and repair of ships, ensuring seaworthiness and
compliance with international safety standards. Across Nigeria, the sector faces numerous obstacles including
inadequate infrastructure, limited capacity of existing docks, high operational costs, and heavy reliance on foreign
facilities. In the study, various maritime standards, recommended practices, and insights from academic and industry
literature were systematically reviewed, focusing on current practices within Nigeria's maritime industry and
beyond. This study aimed to develop a sustainable framework for vessel docking maintenance that is economically
accessible to vessel owners, thereby promoting adherence to best practices and ensuring sustainable ship
maintenance in Nigeria. Findings reveal that docking practices in the country are also selective, and existing policies
and frameworks are largely unsustainable given the national maritime sector's ambitions. A novel docking
technology is proposed to support sustainable framework in addressing prevalent tendencies of cost-cutting and
profit-driven compromises, hence, fostering responsible maintenance practices in the shipping sector.