Nigerian shipowners who applied for the $700 million Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) may not get the money due to their inability to pass the credit assessment of Primary Lending Institutions (PLI) and lack of cargo guarantee, findings have shown.

Since the Federal Government launched the CVFF application portal on January 21, 2026, to enable indigenous shipowners to access $25 million each after 20 years delay in disbursement, only one application out of the 92 has been reviewed and forwarded for approval by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, while 20 applications have been submitted to the PLIs.

The Federal Government had said applications for the funds would take about 80 to 90 days for approval by the ministry, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the PLIs. However, after 236 days, no shipowner has received the funds and might allegedly not get them either.

Speaking at the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping (NCS) Members’ Evening held in Lagos with the theme “A Public-Private Dialogue: Unlocking Efficiency in the Marine and Blue Economy Value Chain,” a member of the Governing Board of NIMASA, Iroghama Ogbeifun, revealed that the fund disbursement is being delayed because many of the shipowners that applied do not qualify by failing the banks’ credit assessment stage.

She explained that the application process ultimately rested with the banks, which are responsible for the initial screening of the shipowners, noting that applicants must undergo a credit check before their requests could progress.

She said the only applicant whose approval is currently before the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy is expected to receive the $25 million before the end of 2026, stressing that the industry needed to identify and examine why many prospective beneficiaries were unable to satisfy the requirements of their banks.
On why the stipulated period to get the funds was not met, Ogbeifun said the length of time it takes an applicant to obtain the financing was largely determined by how quickly the shipowner’s bank could complete the credit assessment and give its approval.

Ogbeifun argued that those cleared by their banks would be considered for funding on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ogbeifun, who is also the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Starzs Investments Company Limited, disclosed that her company might not technically qualify for CVFF because of the nature of its business, following the bank’s requirements of a long-term cargo contract.

According to her, cargo guarantees were essential because they demonstrated the viability of the cash flow that applicants presented to their banks and provided assurance that the financed vessels or businesses would have sufficient cargo to generate revenue.

Ogbeifun said the same challenge applied to downstream maritime players, who could find it difficult to qualify for CVFF without cargo guarantees.

“By virtue of my position, I get the report almost every other two weeks and the status of every application, and you will be shocked to see that everyone is shouting CVFF, but they can’t qualify with their banks.

“Technically, they cannot qualify for CVFF if they don’t have a cargo guarantee. Because it is the cargo guarantee that will back up or show the viability of their cash flow that they’re presenting to their banks,” she said.