Nduna Maritime and Sasol have entered into a ZAR 400 million (USD 27.1 million) enterprise and supplier development (ESD) funding agreement through the Sasol Siyakha Trust, in South Africa’s first locally-owned maritime vessel.
The specialised chemical tanker, named Bow Cecil, is the very first Republic of South Africa-flagged vessel that will transport chemicals to international markets registered to carry the South African flag.
“Through Nduna Maritime, we are extending our value chain participation through a wholly owned South African business,” said Vuyo Kahla, Executive Vice President: Advisory, Assurance and Supply Chain, Sasol Limited.
Vusi Mazibuko, Mnambithi Group Executive Chairman, noted that the company has “long term plans to own and operate our own tankers.”
“We also have plans to expand our fleet in both liquid bulk and dry bulk vessels which will see us further deepen South African ownership of the maritime industry. The vessel currently handles outbound shipments of chemicals into South East Asia, the Middle East, and Europe for Sasol and other companies,” Mazibuko added.
Sasol explained that it spends around ZAR 1.8 billion a year on shipping from South Africa to global markets. As the owner of Bow Cecil, Nduna Maritime will leverage this asset to increase its capacity to ship more chemical products to markets concentrated in Asia.