Nigerian indigenous shipowners have renewed their call for major cargo owners, especially the Dangote Group, to help build a domestic fleet through long-term Contracts of Affreightment (CoAs). The contracts would cover petroleum products, cement, fertilizer and other bulk commodities.

The shipowners say their argument rests on a simple principle of shipping economics: cargo creates trade, trade supports financing, and predictable cargo contracts allow shipowners to buy vessels and build fleets that can last.

Captain Ladi Olubowale, former President of the Nigerian chapter of the African Shipowners Association (ASA) and Group Managing Director/CEO of Seamate Maritime Integrated Services Limited, made the case at a Public-Private Dialogue with CEOs in Lagos. The event was organised by the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping, with the theme “Unlocking Efficiency in the Marine and Blue Economy Value Chain.” It brought together maritime leaders, cargo owners, terminal operators and policymakers. Mr. Edwin Devakumar, Group Vice President of Dangote Group, attended as guest CEO.

Olubowale argued that Nigeria’s maritime strategy should move past talk of who owns vessels and focus instead on the commercial conditions that would make it possible for indigenous firms to buy them.

“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 explained that shipping is a capital-heavy private-sector business, and that Nigerian shipowners cannot buy large vessels without predictable cargo volumes and bankable employment contracts.

Instead of waiting for indigenous companies to buy vessels before giving them cargo, Olubowale proposed flipping the order: secure the cargo first, sign credible long-term contracts, arrange the financing, and then let qualified Nigerian operators buy vessels against those contracts.

He said the Dangote Group, whose expanding refinery, cement, fertilizer and industrial operations generate large volumes of maritime cargo, could become a major catalyst for building a Nigerian fleet. He suggested Dangote consider giving portions of its cargo needs to qualified indigenous shipping companies under structured multi-year CoAs.

Such deals, he said, would let Nigerian shipowners approach banks, development finance institutions, export credit agencies, leasing companies and international vessel financiers with cargo they can point to, predictable revenues and long-term contracts.

Olubowale also raised the continued use of foreign-owned vessels to move Nigerian crude and petroleum products. Large tankers, including Suezmax vessels, regularly call at terminals such as Forcados, Bonny and Escravos, earning freight income from Nigerian cargo.

The policy question, he said, should be: how can Nigeria progressively turn the movement of its own cargo into domestic maritime assets, jobs, technical skills, financing opportunities and long-term national economic value?

His answer, he said, is not protectionism without capacity, but the deliberate building of Nigerian shipping capacity that can compete commercially.

“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 described the push for Nigerian-owned Suezmax capacity as part of a wider goal of getting indigenous firms involved in moving crude oil and refined petroleum products.

Olubowale proposed a fleet development model built on four connected pillars: cargo, contract, finance and vessel. Under it, cargo owners supply predictable cargo volumes, long-term CoAs turn those volumes into bankable contracts, financial institutions fund vessel purchases that make commercial sense, and Nigerian shipowners supply the vessels, technical management, jobs and maritime services needed to run the trade.

He said this approach would work alongside initiatives like the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund rather than leaving fleet development entirely dependent on government-backed financing. Government still has a role, he said, but mainly as an enabler, regulator and facilitator, while the commercial engine stays with the private sector.

“Nigeria’s ambition to build a globally competitive marine and blue economy will require deeper collaboration between cargo owners, indigenous shipowners, banks, institutional investors, ports, regulators and government,” he said.

Olubowale said the opportunity to turn Nigerian trade into Nigerian maritime capital goes beyond Dangote. Nigeria is one of Africa’s largest producers and consumers of petroleum products, cement, fertilizer, agricultural commodities and industrial goods, and as intra-African trade grows under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), shipping will matter more, he said.

“The central question is therefore not simply whether Nigeria can own more ships. It is whether the country can deliberately use its enormous cargo base to create a commercially sustainable indigenous shipping industry,” he said.

Long-term cargo commitments, he said, would help Nigerian operators build fleets, create seafaring and shore-based jobs, keep freight earnings in the economy, strengthen maritime skills and put Nigerian shipping companies in a better position to compete in intra-African trade.

“Dangote and other major Nigerian cargo owners can therefore play a role extending beyond industrial production. Through structured partnerships with credible indigenous operators, they can help create the commercial foundation for the next generation of Nigerian shipping companies,” he said.

He called for continued dialogue among policymakers, cargo owners, shipowners, terminal operators, financial institutions and other industry players. Sustainable maritime growth, he said, needs decision-makers across the value chain working toward the same economic goals.

“The maritime industry must ultimately be driven by the private sector. Government should create the enabling environment, while cargo owners, financiers and indigenous operators build the commercial ecosystem. If we connect Nigerian cargo to Nigerian maritime capacity, we will not merely acquire ships—we will build a sustainable shipping industry,” he concluded.