Nduna Maritime and Sasol have entered into a R400 million enterprise and supplier development (ESD) funding agreement through the Sasol Siyakha Trust, in South Africa’s first locally-owned maritime vessel. This is Sasol Siyakha’s single largest funding agreement to date, the company said in its release.
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.
Sasol spends approximately R1.8 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. To date the Sasol Siyakha Trust has disbursed R426.7 million since 2007 to 91 Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs).