Tanker rates from Nigeria rise; owners steering clear

Nigeria’s recent puzzling actions in terms of detentions and back-tax notifications have had what might have been seen as a predictable effect. Shipowners are staying away.

The cost of shipping oil from Nigeria has increased dramatically to its highest for more than a year. At least two shipowners said they were keeping their vessels away from Nigeria after a series of multimillion dollar tax bills were sent out, seeking to claw back unpaid duties from 2010-2019.

Halvor Ellefsen, a tanker broker at Fearnleys Shipbrokers UK Ltd, said that “some owners have decided to stay away and, if nothing else, it’s really shifted sentiment because there’s a smaller pool of vessels willing to go there”.

Source: Insurance Marine News, June 20th 2023