Secretary Board of Trustees of the association, Dr. Emeka Enebeli, who spoke in an interview, disclosed that the bunkering business in Nigeria is worthover $20bn, but regretted that this segment of the maritime industry has become an exclusive preserved for South African firms.
According to him, till date, no Nigerian individual or corporate has a ship bunkering license, saying that the very stringent conditions listed by the DPR makes it almost impossible for any Nigerian individual or corporate has a bunkering license.
While defining ship bunkering as supplying food and water to the ship, he disclosed that the two major products supplied the ship under bunkering are diesel and black oil, both of which are supplied all the ships coming to Nigeria by foreign firms, especially South African companies.
It was gathered that probably because no Nigerian firm has the license to bunker a vessel in Nigeria, all the ships make stopover in Ghana, Liberia and other neighbouring African countries where they are bunkered before they come to Nigerian shores.
On why DPR makes licensing of bunkering business almost impossible, Enebeli said: “Both diesel and black oil are deregulated products so nobody should be able to say accurately while the directorate makes it impossible for any indigenous operator to bunker a ship in Nigeria”.
He, however, disclosed that if only 100 out of the scores of ships that call at Nigeria’s several seaports, the nation’s maritime industry will be very buoyant considering how much it costs to bunker a ship.
While commenting on the dwindling fortunes of Nigerian chandlers, he noted that before any one could make any supply to the ship in terms of provisions and other essential commodities, over 21 agencies of the government are expected to give approval.
