Indigenous shipowners have called on major cargo owners, including the Dangote Group, among others, to support local fleet development by offering long-term Contracts of Affreightment 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 a former Nigeria Chapter President of the African Shipowners Association and Group Managing Director of Seamate Maritime Integrated Services Limited, Capt. Ladi Olubowale, at a Public-Private Dialogue with CEOs organised by the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping in Lagos recently.
The dialogue, themed ‘Unlocking efficiency in the marine and blue economy value chain’, brought together industry stakeholders, including Mr Edwin Devakumar, Group Vice President of Dangote Group (Oil and Gas), as guest CEO.Olubowale explained that Nigeria’s maritime strategy must move beyond debates about vessel ownership to “creating commercial conditions that make indigenous vessel acquisition bankable
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,” Olubowale said.
Olubowale argued that shipping is capital-intensive and Nigerian owners cannot sustainably acquire large vessels without guaranteed cargo volumes and bankable employment 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.