Dangotes refinery exports are creating a 400 million annual shipping windfallAngolan ships are reaping the benefits, not Nigerian operators.
Despite having 300 million in the CVFF, Nigeria has no shipping fleet to service its oil industry, costing jobs and forex.
Angolas modern tanker fleet now powers West Africas largest refinery as Nigeria struggles with decades-old maritime policy failure.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Africas largest refinery owned by the continents richest billionaire, Aliko Dangote, has turned to Angolas shipping fleet to transport crude and refined products from his 19 billion refinery near Lagos, in a move that exposes the chronic shortfalls in Nigerias maritime sector despite its top-tier oil output.
The Dangote RefineryAfricas largesthas begun chartering Angolan-flagged Supermax, Aframax, and Suezmax-class vessels to meet its growing export needs, bypassing Nigerian shippers who cannot handle such operations.
Angola fills the gap as Nigeria lagsAngola, among Africas top 5 producers, has quietly built a modern shipping fleet through joint ventures and foreign partnerships. It now supplies the deepwater tankers needed for Dangotes multibillion-dollar refinery operationsvessels Nigeria still lacks. This is a huge missed opportunity, said Ladi Olubowale, President of the African Shipowners Association, at the 2025 Maritime Law Seminar in Lagos.
Created in 2006 to boost local vessel acquisition, Nigerias Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund CVFF has amassed over N350 billion 300 million yet not a single ship has been delivered. Bureaucratic inertia and political delays continue to stall disbursement. The fund has existed for nearly two decades, but theres no fleet to show for it, said Ladi Olubowale. We need action, not talk.
Dangotes refinery, processing 550,000 barrels per day and targeting 650,000 by year-end, generates an estimated 400 million annually in shipping valuerevenue now flowing to foreign shipowners. While over 7,000 Nigerian seafarers work globally, the country owns no vessels capable of serving its own refining hub. The gap is draining foreign exchange, jobs, and regional clout.