The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has finally bowed to the pressure mounted by the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) and lifted a ban on 113 foreign vessels, mostly very large crude carriers (VLCCs) into Nigeria’s territorial waters less than two months after the ban was imposed. Acting on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, NNPC imposed the ban shortly after Buhari assumed office over concerns that most of the tankers were complicit in incidents of crude oil theft from Nigerian oil terminals. INTERTANKO, whose members were mostly affected by the ban of the 113 vessels, is one of the largest groups in the shipping industry with 207 full members and 285 associate members, and a registered fleet of over 3,000 tankers of over 270 million DWT (deadweight). In his capacity as the then Group General Manager of NNPC in charge of […]