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 this segment of the maritime industry has become an exclusive preserved for South African firms.
In accordance with him, till date, no Nigerian individual or corporate has a ship bunkering license, saying that the stringent conditions listed by the DPR makes it almost impossible for almost 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 which are supplied most of the ships arriving at Nigeria by foreign firms, especially South African companies.
It absolutely was gathered that probably because no Nigerian firm has got the license to bunker a vessel in Nigeria, most of 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 almost any indigenous operator to bunker a ship in Nigeria&rdquo ;.
He, however, disclosed that if only 100 out from the scores of ships that call at Nigeria's several seaports, the nation's maritime industry is likely to be very buoyant considering simply how much it costs to bunker a ship.
While commenting on the dwindling fortunes of Nigerian chandlers, he noted that before anybody could make any supply to the ship in terms of provisions and other essential commodities, over 21 agencies of the federal government are expected to give approval.
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