By Nnasom David

The Nigerian Institute of Marine Engineers and Naval Architects (NIMENA) has opened a call for research papers for upcoming editions of two of its academic publications, the Journal of Blue Economy and Sustainable Energy Development (JBESED) and the African Journal of Offshore, Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture (AJOMENA).

The initiative underscores the institute’s growing commitment to research, innovation and knowledge development as key drivers for advancing Nigeria’s maritime and blue economy sectors.

According to materials released by NIMENA, JBESED is inviting scholarly submissions covering a wide range of issues relating to blue economy and sustainable energy development.

The journal is particularly interested in research focused on blue economy governance, including ocean policy, marine spatial planning and coastal zone management. Other areas of interest include offshore renewable energy, covering wind, wave and tidal energy systems, as well as technology transition.

Researchers are also encouraged to submit papers on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, with emphasis on resource management and ecosystem resilience, alongside marine environmental protection, including pollution control, habitat restoration and climate adaptation.

Similarly, AJOMENA is seeking academic contributions in offshore engineering, marine engineering and naval architecture.

Priority areas for the journal include naval architecture, covering ship design, hydrodynamics and stability; offshore engineering, including subsea structures, floating production storage and offloading units (FPSOs) and renewable energy; marine engineering, focusing on propulsion systems, green technology and decarbonisation; and maritime operations, including shipping logistics, safety management and smart ships.

NIMENA described both publications as peer-reviewed, open-access journals, highlighting fast publication and increased visibility among the benefits available to researchers who publish through the platforms.

The call for papers comes amid the institute’s wider efforts to strengthen professional development, innovation and research within Nigeria’s maritime ecosystem.

The institute recently participated in initiatives aimed at promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the maritime and energy sectors, including the Plug and Play x NIMENA GOAL Accelerator, which was designed to support high-potential startups in maritime and energy while strengthening innovation ties between Nigeria and Singapore.

NIMENA said the latest academic initiative would provide researchers, academics and industry practitioners with a platform to document and share ideas capable of addressing emerging challenges in the maritime sector.

Researchers interested in submitting papers to JBESED can access submission details through nimenajournals.com/jbesed, while information on AJOMENA submissions is available through nimenajournals.com/ajomena.

The institute also announced that an Articles Processing Charge (APC) of $500 would apply for accepted publications. However, it said the first 20 best-quality papers would be sponsored at no cost and fully funded by NIMENA.

It added that scientific validity, technical soundness, originality, international collaboration, impact and research integrity would serve as key criteria for selecting the top 20 qualifying research papers to be published through AJOMENA and JBESED.

According to the institute, submitted papers must attain a minimum qualification score of 80 per cent to be considered among the eligible publications.