Nigeria has opened a new chapter in maritime safety and port development with the deployment of newly produced Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) covering Calabar Bakassi corridor, enabling safer navigation into Calabar Port and the planned Bakassi Deep Seaport.

The National Hydrographic Agency (NHA) announced the successful validation and release of three ENC cells by the International Centre for Electronic Navigational Charts (IC-ENC) in a statement. The charts include NG455150 (Jamestown), NG525190 (Queenstown to Ikot Abasi), and NG542550 (Ports of Calabar).

Following the release, all vessels traversing Nigeria’s coastal approaches through the eastern channel up to the inner port limits are required to rely on the Nigerian-produced ENCs. The charts provide modern digital coverage and present mariners with an integrated and up-to-date picture of water depths, seabed features, navigational hazards, aids to navigation and harbour infrastructure essential for safe passage to Calabar and the future Bakassi Deep Seaport.

The three ENCs were produced from a recent high-resolution survey of the Calabar–Bakassi axis conducted to international standards and comparable to IHO S-44 Order 1 for busy approaches and harbour entrances.

According to the Hydrographer of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the NHA, Rear Admiral Ayo Olugbode, “the sea is our largest unexplored resource, and if we don’t map it, we can’t manage it.”

He stressed that the production of critical navigational charts not only enhances safety in Nigerian waters but also assures the productive exploitation and development of the nation’s blue economy.