Nigerian River Ferry Design Competition Yields Innovative Solutions for Safe, Affordable Transport
The Worldwide Ferry Safety Association (WFSA) announced the winners of its international maritime student design competition on February 20, 2026, challenging students to create a safe and affordable ferry design for the Niger River in Nigeria. The competition focused on addressing the unique challenges of the waterway, including shallow depths, piracy, and limited local shipbuilding capacity, while prioritizing renewable energy propulsion.
The Urgent Need for Safer Ferries in Nigeria
Inland waterways in central and western Africa, including the Niger River, have historically recorded the highest number of fatal ferry accidents globally. However, recent developments offer hope for improvement. The Lagos State government has successfully implemented a new safe ferry system for the Lagos lagoon and its tributaries, with vessels constructed locally by Caverton, a Nigerian company. The Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) is actively promoting ferry safety training in collaboration with Interferry, and several African nations are prioritizing shipbuilding initiatives.
Design Challenges and Competition Criteria
The competition’s Terms of Reference highlighted several critical challenges: shoreline erosion from flash floods, fluctuating and shallow water depths, the threat of piracy, limited access to shipbuilding facilities, and the need for both safety and affordability. Designers were tasked with creating a ferry capable of carrying 200 passengers and cargo along a 200 km route from Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, to Onitsha, a major commercial center. Additional constraints included a shallow draft requirement of 0.89 meters (3 feet) at the Lokoja dock, operational hours limited to 6 a.m. To 6 p.m., and the recent removal of national fuel subsidies.
And the Winners Are…
First Place: Universitas, Indonesia – M/V SAFARIND
The first-place award went to a 10-member team from Universitas in Jakarta, Indonesia, led by Felicia Rachel Taruli Siregar. Their design, the M/V SAFARIND, is intended to be built at the Nigerian Naval Shipyard in Port Harcourt and transported upstream to Onitsha. The 36-meter (118-foot) flat-bottom steel catamaran features a simple, affordable construction using flat plates. It is powered by four gasoline outboard engines, supplemented by a hybrid auxiliary energy system incorporating solar PV, battery storage, and auxiliary generators to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
Judges praised the design’s affordability model, constructability, and integrated systems for navigation, security, and energy management. The vessel is capable of a service speed of 27 knots, allowing for a four-hour journey between Lokoja and Onitsha. Security features include CCTV, controlled boarding, water cannons, and covert distress alerting systems.
Second Place: Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS Surabaya), Indonesia – GREAT IDIA
The second-place team from ITS Surabaya implemented a modular construction strategy to overcome logistical challenges. Ship components would be manufactured at West Atlantic Shipyard in Rivers State and transported by 33 trucks for assembly at HM Yard. The GREAT IDIA is a 35-meter (115-foot) aluminum wave-piercing catamaran powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and equipped with solar panels and a waste heat recovery system. Its hull design minimizes hydrodynamic resistance, achieving speeds of 18–23 knots and a travel time of approximately five hours, accounting for currents and seasonal variations.
The vessel includes refrigerated storage for cargo and a foldable crane for loading and unloading. The team also developed a sensor-based navigation assistance system and a computational model to enhance safety. A key innovation is the integration of an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system to recover waste heat from the engine cooling system. The team is led by Captain Bachtiar Shifa Bahari and consists of nine members.
Third Place: Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh – M/V NIGER DRIFT
The third-place team from BUET in Dhaka designed the M/V NIGER DRIFT, also powered by CNG, with auxiliary solar and hydrokinetic turbine power. The aluminum vessel would be constructed in blocks at Naval Shipyard Ltd Port Harcourt and transported to Onitsha by truck. The ferry is expected to complete the 200 km journey in approximately 5.5 hours at a cruise speed of 20 knots. Passenger cooling utilizes a natural air circulation system.
Innovations include a hydrokinetic turbine that harnesses water flow to generate energy and a pontoon landing system to mitigate the effects of fluctuating water levels during embarkation and disembarkation, also serving as a CNG filling/charging platform. The seven-member team is led by Md. Kawsar Mhamud Zidan.
Next Steps
The winning student teams will present their designs at the WFSA’s Ferry Safety and Technology meeting, to be held May 5-7, 2026, in New York City.
Charles R. Cushing Recognition Prize for Aesthetics
The Charles R. Cushing recognition prize for esthetics was awarded to the Pakistan Navy Engineering College, Karachi; the University of Southampton, UK; and the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Charles Cushing, a prominent U.S. Naval architect, selected the designs based on their aesthetic appeal, specifically the “illusion of swiftness.”