By Oluyinka Onigbinde
Indigenous shipowners have renewed their push for major cargo owners, including the Dangote Group, to support local fleet development by offering long-term Contracts of Affreightment (CoAs) for petroleum products, cement, fertiliser and other bulk cargoes.
The shipowners said cargo is the foundation of shipping, and predictable cargo contracts are what make vessel financing and acquisition possible.
The call was made by Capt. Ladi Olubowale, former President of the African Shipowners Association (ASA), Nigeria Chapter and Group Managing Director of Seamate Maritime Integrated Services Limited, at a Public-Private Dialogue with CEOs organised by the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping in Lagos.
The dialogue, themed “Unlocking Efficiency in the Marine and Blue Economy Value Chain,” had Mr. Edwin Devakumar, Group Vice President of Dangote Group (Oil and Gas) as guest CEO.
Capt. Olubowale said Nigeria’s maritime strategy must move beyond debates about vessel ownership to creating commercial conditions that make indigenous vessel acquisition bankable.
“Shipping follows cargo. Give credible Nigerian shipowners long-term Contracts of Affreightment, and those contracts become the commercial foundation upon which vessels can be financed, acquired and deployed,” he said.
He argued that shipping is capital-intensive and Nigerian owners cannot sustainably acquire large vessels without guaranteed cargo volumes and bankable employment contracts.
Instead of waiting for local firms to own ships before giving them cargo, Olubowale proposed reversing the model — secure the cargo, create long-term contracts, structure financing, and allow qualified Nigerian operators to acquire vessels against those contracts.
He said Dangote, with its refinery, cement and fertiliser operations generating huge maritime cargo volumes, is well placed to catalyse local fleet growth by allocating portions of its cargo requirements to qualified indigenous operators under multi-year CoAs.
Such contracts, he noted, would enable Nigerian shipowners to approach banks, development finance institutions, export credit agencies and international financiers with identifiable cargo and predictable revenue.
Olubowale also raised concern over the dominance of foreign-controlled vessels, including Suezmax tankers, in lifting Nigerian crude from terminals at Forcados, Bonny and Escravos, earning huge freight revenues from Nigerian cargo.
He said the policy question should be how to convert the movement of Nigerian cargo into domestic assets, jobs, technical capacity and long-term economic value.
“There is no structural reason why Nigerian companies should not ultimately own and operate Suezmax tankers and other large commercial vessels. But fleet development must be connected to cargo, finance, technical capability and long-term employment,” he said.
He advocated a four-pillar model for fleet development: Cargo, Contract, Finance and Vessel — where cargo owners provide volumes, CoAs create bankable contracts, financiers fund vessel acquisition, and Nigerian owners provide vessels and services.
According to him, the model would complement, not replace, government interventions like the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).
Olubowale stressed that government’s role should be that of enabler, regulator and facilitator, while the private sector drives the commercial engine.
“Nigeria’s ambition to build a globally competitive marine and blue economy will require deeper collaboration between cargo owners, indigenous shipowners, banks, investors, ports, regulators and government,” he said.
He added that as intra-African trade grows under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), maritime transport will become even more critical, and Nigeria must deliberately use its huge cargo base to build a sustainable indigenous shipping industry.
“The maritime industry must ultimately be driven by the private sector. If we connect Nigerian cargo to Nigerian maritime capacity, we will not merely acquire ships — we will build a sustainable shipping industry,” he said.
