DIGITALIZATION IN THE MARITIME INDUSTRY: PROSPECTS/CHALLENGES FOR SKILLED MARITIME WORKFORCE IN THE 21ST CENTURY NIGERIA

Abstract

Over four fifths of all trade in the world flows through the high seas, with ships carrying over 80% of volume of global trade. This defines the importance of the maritime industry and the need for efficiency - faster transactions, lower costs, and reduced delays in the maritime logistics part of the global supply chain. Rarely has the importance of maritime logistics for trade and development been more evident than during the last few years. The Covid-19 pandemic caused historically high and volatile freight rates, congestion, closed ports and new demands for shipping. The war in Ukraine has disrupted major shipping routes and supply chains. It has also triggered record prices that could push tens of millions more people across the world into hunger and poverty. However, the disruptions are accelerating the use of technology to navigate through the complexities of transport planning and supply chain operations. In a post-COVID, post-war era, higher expectations of rapid delivery put a premium on efficiency, optimization, reliability, visibility, resilience, predictability, and sustainability. Many of the supply chain disruptions and logistical logjams can be eased through trade facilitation and particularly by digitalization which enhances transparency, speeds up clearance, allows for risk management and pre-arrival processing, and enables more responsive and agile processes. This paper explains the meaning of digitalization and its benefits to the maritime industry in the 21st century. It explains why digitalization is crucial to the maritime industry, the challenges to digitalization in the maritime industry and the work of international organizations, particularly the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in ensuring the digitalization of the maritime industry in order to assure the facilitation of global trade and the competitiveness of the maritime logistics chain. The paper also discusses the IMO’s-mandatory requirements for digitalization in the Maritime Industry and highlights the prospects/challenges to skilled maritime workforce.