Winner: 12th Annual International Student Design Competition

‘Naija Spirit’ wins WFSA contest for a safe Lagos ferry

By Martin Conway, The Royal Institution of Naval Architects, June 12, 2025

The 12th WFSA student design contest saw the association return to Nigeria, with David Okafor, a naval architect with the Nigerian Navy, again assisting in drawing up the specifications for the design teams. This year’s challenge called for a 200-pax electric ferry capable of navigating Lagos’ waterways, emphasising a 25km route linking Ikorodu, a northeastern business zone, to the CMS transport hub on Lagos Island.

This year’s winning entry was Naija Spirit, a 28m, double-deck aluminium catamaran, designed by Team Black Pearl of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). Team Black Pearl was captained by final-year student Md. Safayet Hossain Shishir – who, incidentally, was part of the BUET team that secured second-place in last year’s WFSA River Niger design competition. Click here for the complete story.

Location:

Waterfront Museum, Red Hook, Brooklyn

Topics:

Excellent Electric Vessels and their Infrastructure:

• Battery-run electric vehicles on board: Safety considerations
• Worsening weather and what to do
• International Ideas and Opportunities:
• Nigeria – New fleet of electric ferries in Lagos
• Philippines – Expansion intraurban Manila ferry route
• Bangladesh – New interurban ferry
• India – Kolkata expansion, including waterborne Amazon package delivery

Confirmed Speakers:

• Captain John Garvey, COO Staten Island Ferry 
  
• Buckley McAllister, CEO McAllister Towing including  Bridgeport - Port Jefferson Ferry
• Elias Van Sickle, CEO, SWITCH, Hydrogen fuel cell ferries coming to NYC
• Yasuyoshi Tarao, NK Japan, Safe Carriage BEV on Ferries Report
• Ed Schwarz, Siemens Marine Energy Solutions
• Dr. Joe Sienkiewicz, Meteorologist and Oceanographer
• Alan Warren, NY Waterway — The Blue Highway
• Ilana Mayid-Dennis, US Coastal
• Matt Periconne, Sixth Borough

LIVE MUSIC! New Yeller, an Indie Rock Band

Sponsorship opportunities available: Contact Roberta Weisbrod, ferrysafety -at- gmail.com.