Maritime Logistics And The Role Of Ict In The Optimization Of Cargothroughput In Nigeria

The recurring problem of maritime logistics are delay at the port, increasing freight charges and inability to increase non-oil export which have not made the seaports perform to their optimum capacity and capability in Nigeria. This study examined the trend of inward and outward logistics traffic (cargo throughput) of selected Nigerian seaports and assessed the level of usage of Information Communication Technology (ICT) on seaport logistics optimization. Primary and secondary data were collected and Cochran‘s formula was used to determine sample size of 253 with systematic random sampling technique from a total of 743 population of selected relevant stakeholders in maritime logistics. Line graph was used to evaluate the import-export of liquid cargoes and bar chart shows the collective import–export of agricultural products in Nigeria. Again, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to examine the use of ICT on seaport logistics optimization. Results revealed that, Nigeria‘s import-export has been progressively increasing without commeasurable capacity and capability to deal with it. The Decision Making Units (DMUs) i.e Seaports show Return to Scale (RTS) of only Apapa seaport increasing, Onne and Warri decreasing while Tin Can and Calabar were constant in relation to Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In order to meet up with their frontier targets, Apapa is expected to increase its ICT infrastructure while Onne and Calabar are to increase the intensity of utilization of ICT. The research concluded that, there is need to increase port capacity; improve on non-oil export logistics, skill capability and ICT infrastructure for the purpose of building or upgrading and maximum utilization of some existing seaports.