Tanker Ship Transportation and Pollution of the Coastal Environment in Nigeria

This study investigated the effect of tanker ship transportation on the pollution of the coastal environment in Nigeria (2000–2024). The ex-post facto research design was adopted and utilized longitudinal secondary data obtained from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Federal Ministry of Environment, and the Rivers State Ministry of Health. Core variables examined included oil spill incidents, ballast water discharges, and other ship-generated waste. Also, environmental quality indicators such as Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), and public health indices reflecting disease incidence in coastal communities were examined. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, time-series trend analysis, and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) multiple regression techniques to establish predictive relationships between tanker operations and environmental-health outcomes. Findings revealed a steady increase in tanker traffic over the study period, corresponding with elevated pollution levels and declining ecological and health indices. Oil spill intensity emerged as the most significant predictor of coastal water contamination, followed by ballast water discharge, while ship-generated waste exerted a weaker but positive influence. The regression models exhibited strong explanatory power, satisfying assumptions of normality, homoscedasticity, and multicollinearity. Findingd imply that oil spills have significant effect on water contamination, biodiversity loss, and health impact. Also, ballast water discharge has no significant effect on water contamination and biodiversity loss, but has significant effect on health impact.