Nigeria, Aug. 5 -- The News Chronicle(TNC) understands that an unofficial and poorly controlled vessel leasing system could be causing Nigeria's maritime industry to lose more than $500 million annually.

Insufficient monitoring, a lack of qualified personnel in vessel chartering, and a failure to follow worldwide compliance standards are thought to explain this startling loss.

Rising inefficiencies in ship brokerage and chartering operations have alarm from maritime professionals and stakeholders, who say they are hurting total sector growth and income generation. TNC discovered that these inefficiencies result mostly from a lack of organized control and the prevalence of inexperienced people working inside the system.

Seasoned offshor...