Caverton, ExploMar Partner to Electrify Africa’s Waterways

Oluchi Chibuzor

Caverton Marine, subsidiary of Caverton Offshore Support Group, one of Africa’s leading marine and aviation logistics companies, has announced a landmark strategic partnership with ExploMar to accelerate the transition to sustainable marine mobility across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The partnership was formalised at the prestigious Shanghai Boat Show with the official signing of new orders covering 20 electric engines and battery systems, alongside the development of innovative onshore charging infrastructure.

Chief Executive Officer of Caverton Offshore Support Group, Mr. Olabode Makanjuola,  who is the visionary behind the OMIBUS programme, described the collaboration as a defining moment for regional transportation. He noted that the partnership centres on the co-development of a standardised, scalable electric ferry platform purpose-built to meet the operational realities of African and emerging-market waterways.

“The future of Nigeria’s waterways is electric,” said Makanjuola. “Cities like Lagos are defined by water, yet millions of residents remain trapped in road congestion while vast waterway networks lie underutilised. Conventional petrol and diesel-powered ferries are costly to operate and increasingly difficult to justify in dense urban environments. This partnership sets out to validate an entirely new operating model under real-world conditions, beginning with pilot operations in Lagos, one of Africa’s most demanding and complex environments.”

The CEO of ExploMar, Alex Dong,  commented: “We are proud to stand alongside Caverton as a committed partner in this transformative initiative. At ExploMar, we have long believed that the electric maritime revolution must extend beyond developed markets, Africa’s waterways represent one of the most significant and underserved opportunities in global sustainable transport. Our collaboration with Caverton is not simply a commercial arrangement; it is a shared mission to engineer solutions that are robust, affordable, and purpose-fit for the realities of African operations.”

Makanjuola affirmed that implementation is already well underway, with pilot operations in Lagos progressing as planned. He expressed Caverton’s commitment to working in close partnership with key regulatory and operational bodies, including the National Inland Waterway Authority (NIWA) and the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), to ensure the seamless integration of these advanced vessels into the state’s transport network.