Dangote Refinery has begun relying on Angola’s shipping fleet for the transportation of its crude oil and refined products.
Speaking at the 2025 Maritime Law Seminar in Lagos, Ladi Olubowale, President of the African Shipowners Association in Nigeria, revealed that Dangote’s decision stems from the lack of suitably sized vessels owned by Nigerian ship operators.
Olubowale, a retired ship captain, explained that Nigerian shipowners currently do not possess vessels with the capacity to handle Dangote’s cargo requirements.
“We simply do not have the right types of ships needed for Dangote’s petroleum products. We lack Supermax, Suezmax, and Aframax vessels,” he said.
He warned that unless Nigeria invests in building its maritime capacity to handle deep-water operations, the local shipping industry will continue to miss out on significant opportunities.
As a result, Nigeria is losing out on vital segments of the logistics value chain connected to Dangote’s refinery.
Similarly, Captain Tajudeen Alao, President of the Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM), told Vanguard that Dangote had approached local ship owners to transport its products to various West African countries. However, no local operators met the stringent requirements needed.
Captain Alao urged the government to accelerate the release of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).
This fund would empower Nigerian shipping companies to upgrade their fleets and participate more actively in transporting petroleum products, not only for Dangote Refinery but across the broader West African region.
Without such support and investment, Nigeria risks continuing to cede valuable maritime business to foreign operators.
