Former Chapter President of the African Shipowners Association (ASA), Captain Ladi Olubowale, has disclosed that inadequate indigenous shipping capacity and the absence of a strategic national fleet plan have become the major challenges confronting Nigeria’s shipping industry.

This is as he noted that Nigeria is currently losing $70,000 daily to foreign-owned vessels operating in the coastal maritime trade as it struggles to develop an indigenous fleet capable of carrying its growing cargo volumes.

Speaking at the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN) Roundtable in Lagos, Olubowale noted that the huge financial leakages were occurring because foreign vessels were taking advantage of opportunities created by Nigeria’s cargo and oil trade, stressing that the country needed to urgently determine the types of vessels required to serve its different cargo segments.

According to him, Nigeria’s inability to develop a strategic fleet has become particularly evident in the tanker sector, where the country lacks some of the vessels required by oil terminals and other cargo owners.

Olubowale noted that vessel acquisition should not be approached simply as a financing exercise, arguing that ships must be acquired based on identifiable cargo and long-term trade contracts capable of generating revenue.

He said: “Nobody buys ships without a trade. Ship finance globally is tied to trade because long-term cargo contracts provide the business required to sustain vessel operations and repay financing.

He therefore called for a strategic fleet analysis to determine the vessels Nigeria needs and the cargoes they would carry, rather than disbursing financing to individual operators without a holistic understanding of the country’s shipping requirements.

Olubowale also linked the challenge to the implementation of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), arguing that the fund could contribute significantly to the development of a national fleet if deployed strategically.

He disclosed that his company had applied for the CVFF and that several banks had recently approached the company over the financing, with banks providing term sheets outlining equity contributions and other requirements.

The shipowner argued that the estimated $700 million fund should not merely be viewed as money for individual ship purchases but as an opportunity to develop a national fleet covering both dry and liquid cargo sectors.

According to him, about $25 million could be sufficient to acquire a sizeable vessel when properly matched with a specific trade opportunity and backed by a cargo contract, saying that the industry needed to change the narrative that ship ownership necessarily required enormous capital, noting that the availability of cargo and a guaranteed trade could help drive vessel financing and repayment.

Olubowale stressed that the government’s role should be to create the enabling environment, while the private sector and shipping professionals should drive vessel ownership and fleet development.

He explained Nigeria could not achieve a sustainable national fleet by merely announcing policies and agreements without measuring their economic value and determining how Nigerian shipowners could participate in the resulting trade opportunities.

The maritime expert also called for stronger coordination between regulators and industry stakeholders, saying regulatory agencies should focus on safety, compliance and creating an enabling environment, while the private sector should drive the commercial development of the industry.

Olubowale noted that Nigeria’s various trade agreements, projects and maritime policies could create opportunities for indigenous shipowners if cargo considerations were incorporated into the planning process.

He urged stakeholders to look beyond policy announcements and ask how many Nigerian-owned vessels were actually benefiting from such initiatives and how much economic value they were generating.

He said: “From January to date, what is the economic value of this thing?” he asked, stressing the need for measurable outcomes from government interventions in the maritime sector.

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