The Nigerian government established the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) in 1959. The state-owned business was unable to compete with European lines, even with a lot of money invested and subsidies. The political elite were enriched with a large portion of the investment. The NNSL, which was heavily indebted, went bankrupt in 1995 and sold all 21 of its vessels.
In 1957, Nigeria established the NNSL. The Elder Dempster Line, a British company, initially held 33% and the Palm Line, a British company, held 16% of the capital, respectively, while the Nigerian government held 51%. The Nigerian government took all of the shares in 1961. In 1959, the NNSL began operations with three vessels. During the colonial era, Nigerian seamen who were employed by British shipping companies relocated to work for the Nigerian Line. It had increased to 16 vessels by 1964. Private businessmen provided assistance to the public company. Sir Louis Ojukwu, a billionaire who passed away in 1966, was one of the early board members. Oloye Adekunle Ojora, formerly of the United Africa Company and later a highly successful businessman in his own right, served as chairman from 1967 to 1973.