Captain Ladi Olubowale, a former Nigeria Chapter President of the African Shipowners Association and Group Managing Director of Seamate Maritime Integrated Services Limited, issued a clear call. Speaking at a recent Nigerian Chamber of Shipping event in Lagos, Olubowale stated: "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 pointed out that shipping is a seriously capital-intensive business. Without guaranteed cargo volumes and bankable employment for the vessels, Nigerian owners just can't sustainably get their hands on the big ships needed to compete.
Mr. Edwin Devakumar, Group Vice President of the Dangote Group (Oil and Gas), was the guest CEO at this event. Olubowale specifically mentioned that Dangote, with its massive refinery, cement, and fertilizer operations churning out huge amounts of cargo, is perfectly positioned to kickstart the growth of a local fleet. All it takes, he argued, is for Dangote to allocate a portion of its cargo needs to qualified Nigerian operators through these multi-year CoAs. Olubowale explained that such contracts would give Nigerian shipowners the leverage they need to walk into banks, development finance institutions, export credit agencies, and even international financiers.
They'd be armed with proof of cargo and predictable income. That's how you get loans approved for multi-million dollar vessels.
Olubowale also touched on a sore point: the sight of foreign-controlled vessels dominating the scene. These ships pick up Nigerian crude oil from terminals like Forcados, Bonny, and Escravos. All that freight money, he noted, is leaving the country. The real question, according to him, isn't just about owning ships. It's about how to transform the movement of Nigerian cargo into domestic assets.
It's about creating jobs here at home, building technical capacity, and generating long-term economic value for Nigeria. He firmly believes there's no reason why Nigerian companies shouldn't eventually own and operate massive vessels like Suezmax tankers. But, he reiterated, fleet development needs to be a four-pillar strategy: Cargo, Contract, Finance, and Vessel. Cargo owners provide the volumes, CoAs create bankable contracts, financiers fund the acquisition, and Nigerian owners provide the ships and services.
This whole approach, he stressed, is meant to work hand-in-hand with government initiatives, not replace them. Think of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, for instance. In this ideal scenario, the government's role is to be the enabler, the regulator, and the facilitator. Meanwhile, the private sector actually drives the commercial engine. Building a globally competitive marine and blue economy requires deep collaboration between everyone involved: the cargo owners, the indigenous shipowners, the banks, investors, port regulators, and the government.
With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) gaining momentum and boosting intra-African trade, maritime transport is only going to become more critical. Nigeria, with its enormous cargo base, has a golden opportunity to deliberately build a sustainable shipping industry right here at home.