nigeria relaxes tanker ban but industry remains ‘baffled’

capt odysseus lekatsas

2 Lloyd’s List www.lloydslist.com

Continued from page 2

“There are still lots of things to consider,” he said.

Review of activities

The letter from NNPC is addressed to Hyde Energy Nigeria Limited, a global oil and commodities trading company, based in Abuja. While it states that the president has approved the consideration of all incoming vessels into Nigerian territorial waters subject to receipt of a letter of comfort, it also leaves the door open to restrictions in future, subject to a review of activities.

The letter states: “Mr President has directed a review of activities of all the affected vessels to determine culpability or otherwise in illegal operations within our territorial waters.”

HFW associate Tunde Adesokan advised owners with vessels on the list to “get some type of assurance [from NNPC], just to be safe, because the last thing that you want
is for them to say: actually,
we have now conducted this review and we find you to be culpable.”

However, he also said that owners with tankers on the list should “feel safer” to go into Nigeria now.

Caught by surprise

Nevertheless, after more than six weeks without official comment on the ban from NNPC, the letter from NNPC this week has caught many by surprise.

Tatham Macinnes lawyer Stephen Askins, who held
a briefing on the ban this week as part of London International Shipping Week, told Lloyd’s List that the new letter from NNPC was “very unexpected”.

At this week’s briefing, which included Nigerian maritime participants, there was “no indication from anyone in the audience that it would be lifted”, he said.

“There’s no reason to believe that [the letter from NNPC] is anything other than genuine,” he said. “To those it directly affects, it’s welcome.”

Lloyd’s List has invited

Intertanko to comment on
the latest letter by NNPC, however the communication appears to have come as a surprise to the association, despite their repeated attempts to seek clarification from the Nigerian government on the ban. Intertanko has been working to help its members remove vessels from the list.

This week, Lloyd’s List was told by a senior Nigerian lawyer that NNPC had no power to implement such

as ban. Instead, the power lies with the Nigerian Ports Authority or Nimasa, he said.

Euronav, the world’s largest

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has relaxed the tanker ban imposed in late July.

AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File

listed crude tanker owner
and with seven VLCCs on the ban list, had previously told Lloyd’s List that it is baffled by the ban as some of its ships on the list have never called in Nigeria. News of the apparent relaxation of the rules has again caught them by surprise and they remain confused by the approach being taken by Nigeria.

Reacting to the news on
the sidelines of a London International Shipping Week event in London, Euronav chief executive Paddy Rodgers told Lloyd’s List: “I’m glad to hear it, but the letter seems a very strange requirement”

NNPC’s London office said it has not received any notice regarding this matter. Calls to the its Abuja headquarters have not been answered.

Additional reporting by Helen Kelly, Max Tingyao lin and Richard Meade