Devakumar Edwin, the vice-president (oil and gas) of Dangote Group, has called for cargo-backed financing to strengthen Nigeria’s shipping industry.

Mr Edwin made the call at the Nigeria Chamber of Shipping’s 2026 Members’ Evening in Lagos on Thursday. He said assured cargo, financing and supporting infrastructure were essential to developing sustainable Nigerian-owned shipping businesses.

“Without assured cargo and supporting infrastructure, new vessel owners struggle and businesses fail, even when finance is available,” Mr Edwin said.

He urged financiers to fund the entire shipping ecosystem, including vessel management, insurance, regulatory approvals and long-term charter agreements.

Mr Edwin said Dangote Group had previously moved about 300 vessels annually for cement, sugar and flour, but Nigerian ships lacked capacity. He said the company would have preferred Nigerian-owned vessels if adequate capacity and cargo availability had existed then.

According to him, the growth of refinery, fertiliser and petrochemical exports now presents a major opportunity for indigenous shipping. He disclosed that Dangote planned to double its capacity and move about 1,800 shipments annually, creating significant demand for Nigerian-flagged vessels.

Mr Edwin said opportunities also existed in tugboats, pilot boats, dry docking, shipbuilding, FPSO servicing and other marine support services. He said developing the sector would create jobs and retain more shipping-related revenue within Nigeria.

Mr Edwin said Africa continued to lose economic opportunities by exporting raw materials while importing finished products. He noted that products such as linear alkyl benzene for detergents and base oils for lubricants were still imported despite local crude availability.

Mr Edwin said Dangote’s expansion experience repeatedly exposed areas where Nigeria depended on imports for products it could manufacture locally. He said the same problem affected shipping, with foreign operators capturing much of Nigeria’s vessel ownership, financing, insurance and freight earnings.

Mr Edwin called for talent development beyond seafarers, including naval architects, marine lawyers, surveyors, finance professionals and shipping managers. He said Nigerian graduates were talented but needed greater industry exposure and practical opportunities.

Mr Edwin said Dangote’s training programme helped develop engineers locally and abroad, adding that a Qatari firm recently recruited 15 Nigerian engineers. On port efficiency, he said Nigeria needed to match international best practices through automation and better coordination.

He cited Tanger Med, where vessel turnaround averaged 2.5 days, compared with about six days in Nigeria.

Mr Edwin attributed the difference largely to poor coordination and manual processes, urging implementation of a functional National Single Window. He warned that inefficiencies were diverting cargo to Lome and Cotonou, from where goods were subsequently barged back into Nigeria.

“This causes revenue loss to the country,” he said, stressing the need to eliminate avoidable delays across Nigerian ports.

Mr Edwin urged the Chamber to strengthen advocacy by bringing cargo owners, shipowners, regulators and financiers together. He said project financing should consider community relations, environmental compliance and overall business viability, rather than focusing solely on vessel acquisition.

Aminu Umar, the president of the chamber, called for sustained public-private dialogue to improve efficiency across Nigeria’s marine and blue economy.

Mr Umar said partnership was central to maritime development, noting Nigeria’s coastline, ports, waterways and market offered enormous economic potential. He said competitive shipping, seamless cargo movement, efficient infrastructure and stronger indigenous participation were necessary to capture that value.

Mr Umar said the chamber, established in 2002, remained an advocate for Nigeria’s maritime industry and Africa’s sole International Chamber of Shipping board member. He urged investment, predictable regulation and stronger indigenous participation to support industrial growth driven by Dangote’s refinery exports.

Jean Anishere, the governing council member of the chamber, said collective action was needed to retain more value from Nigeria’s maritime economy.

“Give us the cargo, we’ll get the ships,” Ms Anishere said, urging cargo-backed commitments through the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund.

(NAN)