EMEA News
Nigeria Lifts Tanker Ban
In a surprise turnaround, Nigeria has lifted its ban preventing around 100 tankers from operating in its territorial waters, after legal experts suggested the prohibition would be permanent, according to media reports.
A letter from state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) dated September 8 states that Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari had approved the consideration of all incoming vessels "subject to receipt of a Letter of Comfort from all terminal operators and off-takers of Nigerian Oil and Gas as guarantee that nominated ships are free and will not be utilized for any illegal activity whatsoever."
Ship & Bunker reported earlier this week that an unnamed maritime lawyer quoted by Platts spoke of the possibility of more ships being added or others removed from the list, but the ban was otherwise unlikely to be lifted.
Buhari imposed the ban on July 15, allegedly to eliminate corruption in the oil sector, which has been estimated to cost the country as much as $35 million per day.
The ban reportedly prompted some shipowners whose vessels were on the list to keep their entire fleet away from Nigeria.
Despite the West African country's status as a major exporter of crude, the ban is said not to have affected freight rates, physical trading of Nigerian crude, or crude values.
Some shipping industry officials suspect the ban was lifted over concerns that Buhari's anti-smuggling efforts might affect legal crude exports, and they told Platts that uncertainty over the safety of navigating Nigerian waters will continue until ships on the list complete at least one voyage to load crude from Nigerian ports.
In July, an investigation into a sample of 75 vessels on the banned vessel list reportedly showed that only 14 had been to Nigeria or surrounding countries within the previous 180 days.
