Frontline shipping and logistics company Fortune Global has urged the Federal Government to develop the capacity of indigenous logistics operators so they can be better placed to favourably compete in the global market.

* Mor Prosperity; one of the two newly acquired vessels by Morlap Shipping Company.

Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Eric Opah, said in a recent chat with newsmen in Lagos that the Local Content Law had a tremendous impact on Fortune Global’s partnership with Total as logistics provider for the ambitious Egina FPSO project.

Opah, who also called for the speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), said it was aimed at providing exclusive consideration for indigenous service companies which had demonstrated ownership of equipment and the capacity to execute jobs in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

He said: “A lot of local projects have been awarded to foreign companies in the industry. I’m not saying that such should not be. But again, if you have a local company with the same competence, they should come first…. We have lost a lot of revenue because the desired attention has not been paid to regulatory issues around the logistics business in Nigeria.”

Opah observed that one of the critical challenges faced by local operators is the inability to access finance which stifles their capacity to handle major projects and play in the global market. He however noted that Fortune Global was holding its own despite the tough operating environment, leveraging its track record and strategic partnerships.

“We have grown from a small brokerage firm to a bigger international forwarding company which has expanded into oil and gas. This expansion has seen us not only handling freight, but also providing logistics solutions for the energy industry,” he said.

Incorporated in 2006, Fortune Global has built strategic local and international partnerships to strengthen its new business portfolio in the oil and gas sector. The company started out as a customs brokerage agent, but has internationalized its operations to include Houston and Ghana, and is plugged into the World Freight Network (WFN).