Dangote to launch own shipping fleet to boost maritime operation

In a move to address limited shipping capacity and the rising cost of road transportation, which have hindered its regional expansion, Dangote Industries has concluded plans to acquire its own vessels to facilitate the movement of its products from Nigeria to markets across West and Central Africa.

Speaking from the perspective of the logistical challenges confronting regional trade, Sada Ladan-Baki, Head of International Trade and Export at Dangote Cement, said the company’s decision to acquire its own vessels was driven by the difficulty of securing adequate shipping capacity.

She disclosed on Tuesday at a seminar on non-oil exports that the conglomerate had encountered serious obstacles in moving products from Nigeria to markets across the region.

According to her, Dangote was at one point unable to secure a vessel to transport a 1,000-metric-tonne consignment to Ghana, despite the relatively short distance between the two countries.

“We are moving forward towards getting our own ships in order to do this business,” Ladan-Baki said.

She noted that reliance on road transportation was equally challenging, as products destined for Ghana must transit through neighbouring countries such as Benin and Togo, where they attract taxes and other charges.

The situation, she said, raises transport costs and makes Nigerian exports less competitive in regional markets, strengthening the case for Dangote to develop its own maritime transport capacity.

The move is significant because Dangote’s businesses are becoming increasingly dependent on maritime trade.

Its $20 billion refinery in Lagos is already reshaping Nigeria’s seaborne trade, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration saying this week that Nigeria’s petroleum-product exports by sea have grown seven-fold since 2023, driven primarily by output from the Dangote refinery.

The refinery is also expected to handle about 600 vessels annually, combining ships bringing in crude and those carrying refined products to domestic and international markets.

Reacting to the development, President of the Indigenous Shipping Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Otunba Shola Adewumi, said Dangote had over the years relied on foreign-flagged vessels to transport crude oil and refined petroleum products globally because Nigeria lacked sufficient vessels of the required capacity.

Adewumi, however, cautioned that acquiring a vessel was only the beginning, stressing that its maintenance and management could pose a bigger challenge.

He said, “Dangote is a Nigerian and a businessman, and he is free to do whatever he wants. It is very easy to buy a ship, but maintaining the ship is a different ball game.

“We also hope that Dangote will put those vessels under the Nigerian flag so as to add more tonnage to the national fleet and increase Nigeria’s influence in the international shipping community.”

He explained that the planned acquisition of the vessels by Dangote would create additional employment opportunities for Nigerian seafarers, as well as other professionals involved in shipping and international trade.