Cosgrace Lake: banned from Nigerian waters

In a memo sent to all terminal operators, the NNPC said the blacklisting order emanated from Buhari and urged compliance until further notice.

The memo signed by Engr. G.O Komolafe, NNPC’s Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division also prohibited the vessels from operating within Nigeria’s territorial waters.

The memo did not indicate why the vessels were banned, but there were suspicions that they must have been involved in illegal oil bunkering. (Read the full memo here:NNPC ban on oil ships

Update: In a subsequent report by Reuters, some of the vessel owners said they have not been formally informed and some expressed surprise, since their vessels have not been in Nigerian waters for several years:

“Some oil traders and vessel owners noted the list included ships that have not called at Nigerian ports for years, as well as several tankers, such as the Happiness, the Huge and the Diona, operated by Iranian group NITC, which has had little business for Nigeria for some time.

“Some of the vessels are also listed twice, meaning the number of banned vessels could be smaller than 113.

“A trader with a major oil company said there was no obvious reason for the ban, while a source close to operations at Indian Oil Corp, a key buyer of Nigerian crudes, said the refiner would definitely be impacted if the list is accurate.

“If the news is correct freight rates could go up and choice of vessels will be limited,” the source said.

“India has been a top outlet for Nigerian oil in recent years as its light sweet crudes have been pushed out of the once-dominant destination, the United States, by the shale oil boom.

“Bjorn Hojgaard, chief executive of Hong Kong’s Univan Ship Management, was informed of the ban by Reuters reporters.

“There are a number of Univan-managed vessels on the list, but we have certainly not been notified,” Hojgaard said. “I don’t know what’s the story here, but will look into it, together with our customers.”

*Originally reported by Saharareporters