LAGOS, Aug 26 – Dangote Industries is preparing to acquire its own vessels to transport products from Nigeria to markets across West and Central Africa, as limited shipping capacity and high road transportation costs make regional exports more expensive and difficult.
Sada Ladan-Baki, Head of International Trade and Export at Dangote Cement, said the company had faced significant challenges securing vessels for regional shipments. Speaking at a seminar on non-oil exports on Tuesday, she said the constraints had affected the conglomerate’s ability to move products efficiently across neighbouring markets.
At one point, Dangote was unable to secure a vessel to transport a 1,000-metric-tonne shipment to Ghana despite the relatively short distance between the two countries. Ladan-Baki said the company was now moving ahead with plans to develop its own maritime transport capacity.
“We are moving forward towards getting our own ships in order to do this business,” Ladan-Baki said.
Road transportation presents another challenge. Products transported from Nigeria to Ghana by road must pass through countries including Benin and Togo, where additional taxes, fees and other charges can increase the final cost of delivery. For Dangote, the resulting expense can undermine the competitiveness of Nigerian products in regional markets.
Owning vessels would allow the group to reduce its reliance on third-party shipping operators and potentially establish a more predictable logistics chain for exports. The strategy also reflects the growing importance of maritime transport to Dangote’s wider business operations.
The conglomerate’s $20 billion refinery in Lagos has already contributed to a significant increase in Nigeria’s seaborne petroleum trade. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Nigeria’s petroleum-product exports by sea have increased sevenfold since 2023, with the growth driven primarily by production from the Dangote refinery.
The refinery is also expected to handle about 600 vessels annually, including ships transporting crude oil into Nigeria and vessels carrying refined petroleum products to domestic and international destinations.
The planned vessel acquisition could therefore become part of a broader effort by Dangote Industries to build greater control over the logistics infrastructure supporting its expanding industrial and export operations.
Otunba Shola Adewumi, President of the Indigenous Shipping Association of Nigeria, said Dangote had historically relied on foreign-flagged vessels to transport crude and refined petroleum products because Nigeria lacks sufficient vessels with the capacity required for large-scale international trade.
Adewumi cautioned, however, that purchasing vessels would only address part of the challenge, with ownership bringing additional responsibilities related to maintenance, operations and management.
“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,” Adewumi said.
He also urged Dangote to consider registering the vessels under the Nigerian flag, saying this could increase the country’s national shipping capacity and strengthen its position in international maritime trade.
“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,” Adewumi said.
Beyond improving Dangote’s logistics capacity, the acquisition could create opportunities for Nigerian seafarers and other professionals working across shipping, maritime services and international trade.
The move comes as Nigerian manufacturers increasingly seek to overcome infrastructure and logistics constraints that limit access to regional markets. Greater maritime capacity could help Dangote reduce transportation costs, improve delivery reliability and support the broader expansion of Nigerian-made products under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
