Intertanko Protests Nigeria Tanker Ban
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Intertanko has issued a strong protest against Nigeria's decision to ban 113 tankers from its coast.
Nigeria's state oil company NNPC has recently banned 113 oil tankers from the country's waters, citing a directive from President Muhammadu Buhari, in what traders said could be part of efforts to crack down on illegal crude oil trading.
In a letter to Gbenga O. Komolafe, group general manager, crude oil marketing division of NNPC, Intertanko general counsel Michael White wrote, “Intertanko protests in the strongest possible way that these bans should be lifted with immediate effect until grounds and evidence for the ban have been given to each vessel and vessel owner/operator, and the owner/operator has had an opportunity to respond.”
White questioned why these particular ships had been banned, with many on the list having never even traded to the West African nation before.
It noted that no reference was given to policies and requirements relating to the ban or evidence of why individual vessels had been banned.
The letter added: “Many of these vessels have not traded to Nigeria for a number of years; some have never been there. So their owners/operators find it difficult to understand what policies/requirements they have infringed.”