‘Vessel fund must deliver tangible trade gains’

According to Captain Ladi Olubowale, a former President of the African Shipowners Association, the success of the Cabotage Vessels Financing Funds (CVFF) should be measured by their effectiveness in linking to actual trade opportunities, rather than just the amount available to individual shipowners. Olubowale emphasized that a $25m facility under the CVFF could be sufficient to acquire a sizable vessel if the financing is tied to identifiable cargo and long-term trade contracts.

He suggested that the fund should be deployed as part of a broader national fleet development strategy, with the $700m available in the fund enabling Nigeria to develop a fleet covering various cargo segments.

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