Dangote Industries is moving to acquire its own vessels to transport petroleum products from Nigeria to markets across West and Central Africa, following a dearth of marine infrastructure to meet regional demand by road.
Currently, limited shipping capacity and the high cost of road transport complicate the group’s regional expansion plans.
The move is significant because Dangote’s businesses are becoming increasingly dependent on maritime trade.
Its $20 billion refinery in Lagos is already reshaping Nigeria’s seaborne trade, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration saying this week that Nigeria’s petroleum-product exports by sea have grown seven-fold since 2023, driven primarily by output from the Dangote refinery.
The refinery is also expected to handle about 600 vessels annually, combining ships bringing in crude and those carrying refined products to domestic and international markets.
Sada Ladan-Baki, head of international trade export at Dangote Cement, made the plan known on Tuesday at a seminar on non-oil exports.
“We are moving forward towards getting our own ships in order to do this business,” Ladan-Baki said.
The problem facing the conglomerate is particularly striking given the short distance between some of its markets. Ladan-Baki said the company was unable to find a vessel to transport a 1,000-metric-tonne shipment from Nigeria to Ghana, underscoring the shortage of readily available shipping capacity for regional trade.
The alternative, moving products by road through neighbouring countries, comes with its own costs. Dangote said cement transported from Nigeria towards Ghana encounters taxes while passing through countries including Benin and Togo, driving up the final cost and making Nigerian exports less competitive.
The shipping plan could therefore allow the conglomerate to bypass some of those overland barriers while strengthening its grip on logistics.