Indigenous vessel owners have said they are not part of the plans by the Dangote Refinery to transport 75 percent of domestic petroleum product and petrochemicals supply via sea routes.

This is even as the operators listed Trafigura and other foreign supply firms as the major beneficiaries of the $19.5 billion Dangote Refinery.

Recall that the Vice President (Oil & Gas) of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Mr Devakumar Edwin, in September said there were plans to transport 75 percent of domestic petroleum product supply of Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals supply via sea routes.

He stated that the group targeted key locations like Calabar, Port Harcourt and Warri.

Edwin, however, said DIL had the capacity to load 83 percent of its products by road.

According to him, the resort to sea transportation will reduce the higher costs associated with road distribution.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune exclusively, National President of the Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA) and Chief Executive Officer, Equatorial Energy Company, Mr Sola Adewumi, said for the past six months, ships have been loading products from the Dangote Refinery to other places but no Nigerian-owned ships have been involved.

According to the NISA National President: “As of now, no Nigerian vessel is involved in product lifting from the Dangote Refinery. What Dangote Refinery normally does is to get in touch with the international traders to sell their products.

“What we have been told is that the Marine and Blue Economy is still working out procedure to ensure indigenous vessel owners move product from the Dangote Refinery under our Cabotage law.

“Dangote Refinery has been selling products close to six months now. What they do is to get in touch with the international trades to sell their products and move them out of Nigeria.

“Dangote is dealing with the likes of Trafigura. When they sell, Trafigura is at liberty to nominate the ship that will move the product. Trafigura has been moving products on-behalf of Dangote Refinery for months now because our Cabotage law is not working.

“I think the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is working towards ensuring that Nigerian cargoes can only be lifted by Nigerian vessels. The country is losing billions of revenues due to the current pattern of product transportation at the Dangote Refinery. The numerical loss due to capital flight, when quantified, is in billions of dollars.

“With no Nigerian vessel involved in the carriage of products from the Dangote Refinery, Nigeria continues to accumulate huge capital flight losses due to the domination of such trade by foreign vessels who, in turn, repatriate their proceeds to their home country, while plundering Nigeria’s cabotage space,” he said.

When contacted, the spokesman of the Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Mr Tony Chiejina, promised to get back to the Nigerian Tribune. However, he is yet to get back despite one week wait by the Nigerian Tribune for an official response.

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