The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has detained four vessels in the Lagos maritime area for failing to comply with cabotage rules.

The vessels — MT HOLMES, MT FUJAIRAH ENERGY, JS GRATITUDE and MT BORA — were picked up during an enforcement operation called Operation Sea Guardian. The agency said some of them have since been released after clearing their infractions.

The operation came on the back of earlier enforcement efforts. NIMASA said it used intelligence and surveillance to identify and rank high-risk vessels, then added them to a “Target Bank” set up during a previous operation. Deep Blue assets were deployed to track, board, inspect and verify the vessels, working with NIMASA enforcement staff, the Nigerian Navy, the Maritime Guard Command and C4i intelligence personnel.

The agency said the goal was to check compliance with cabotage obligations, surcharges and levies, and other maritime rules.

NIMASA Director General Dr. Dayo Mobereola said such operations will become more frequent and that defaulting operators will face the full weight of the law.

“We had earlier served notice of enhanced enforcement of indigenous participation in our coastal and inland trade and this is exactly what we are doing,” he said. “It is therefore in the interest of operators to ensure total compliance because defaulters will be visited with stiff sanctions in line with the law.”

On August 26, 2026, NIMASA issued a marine notice restating the conditions for engaging in cabotage trade. It warned that any vessel, company, operator, charterer or other stakeholder found in breach of the Cabotage Act would face enforcement action without further notice.