Green Maritime: A Competitive Advantage – Dakuku Peterside

By Temitope Adebiyi, Correspondent

Dr. Dakuku Peterside, a maritime regulation expert and former leader of NIMASA, says green shipping is more than a rule to follow.

He notes that decarbonisation gives shipping companies a strong edge over their rivals in the global market.

Speaking as keynote speaker at a high-level webinar organised by Naturehedge in collaboration with the West Africa Green Economic Development Institute (WAGEDI), Gregory University, SSA Hub, and the Sustainable Energy Practitioners Association of Nigeria (SEPAN), Dr. Peterside emphasized that green maritime affects cost of operations, access to capital, profitability, and licence to operate.

“Green maritime is about environmentally sustainable practices, technologies, and policies that reduce impact on the environment,” Dr. Peterside stated during his presentation on the topic: “Green Maritime: Strategy and Operations Beyond Optics.”

He stressed that the future belongs to organizations that combine decarbonization, digitalization, innovation, and operational excellence.

Moving beyond symbolism, the former NIMASA DG framed green maritime as a source of measurable operational advantage and resilience, not just environmental branding.

With 2026 bringing tighter International Maritime Organization (IMO) carbon-intensity rules and expanded EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) exposure for shipping, the webinar delivered a practical, operations-led roadmap including voyage optimization, just-in-time port arrivals, alternative fuels (methanol, ammonia, LNG), digital tools, and safety-aligned training.

The webinar attracted shipowners, operators, port authorities, financiers, regulators, and energy partners.

The core message: compliance is the floor; competitive advantage comes from embedding sustainability into daily operations, data, and finance.

Also speaking, Professor Magnus Onuoha, President, Governing Council of REEEAA and BOT Chairman, SEPAN, announced that the webinar serves as a precursor to a major strategic pan-regional workshop to be held in Accra, Ghana.

Also speaking on operational efficiency of ships, Madam Hermione Manuel, Managing Director of Damen Shipyards in South Africa highlighted green maritime as competitive advantage, sustainability, and compliance rolled into one, citing hybrid vessel initiatives at her shipyard.

The webinar closed with a confirmation that this webinar series will continue periodically, leading up to the physical workshop in Accra, Ghana; thereby ensuring increased strategic and operational expertise in Africa’s Maritime industry decarbonisation.