MD NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko

Maritime stakeholders in Nigeria are piqued with the unbridled funfair at which the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA rolled out the drums to celebrate the berthing and handling of MV LADY JANE, a 5,000 TEUs container vessel, which came to the WACT Terminal in Onne Ports Complex, to discharge only 840 TEUs, describing the development as mere celebration of mediocrity.

A good number of logistics service providers seem visibly embarrassed that the NPA would regard such development as a milestone at a time other ports in the sub region are handling box carriers more than twice the carrying capacity of MV LADY JANE. “If Nigeria is projecting to emerge as hub port for the West and Central African sub region over and above our West African neighbours like Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic, whose seaports currently handle in excess of 12, 000 to 14,000 TEUs, what then are we celebrating?, a cargo consolidator based in Port Harcourt asked our correspondent.

The stakeholders have also argued that MV LADY JANE, with an overall length of 295 metres and draft of 12 metres, could be grouped into the class of those WAFMAX vessels that had been calling at container terminals at the Lagos Ports Complex in Apapa, and WACT in Onne.  Why the noise “over the largest container vessel ever to call at Onne Port”, they quipped.

One of the service providers, who pleaded anonymity said: “The delivery of 840 boxes from a 5,000 TEU vessel is and cannot be a game-changer because a bigger vessel of over 9, 000 TEUs was handled at the same port last year, though at a different terminal. Perhaps what might be of significance is that the vessel sailed off with 1,060 TEUS of agricultural produce comprising cashew nuts, sesame seed and mineral ores among others, which represents a positive outflow of fully laden containers.”

Recall that the successful handling of Maersk line MV Stardelhorn on August 15, 2020, with a length overall of 300 metres, width of 48 metres, received at the Federal Ocean Terminal FOT, Onne had a capacity of 10,000 TEUs, remains the biggest container carrying vessel to visit Nigerian waters.

The stakeholders therefore argued that popping champagne on the visit of a vessel half the size and carrying of MV Stardelhorn, two years after, is tantamount to celebrating mediocrity or someone is just trying to pump his chest when there is absolutely no need for that.

Speaking at the colourful reception to welcome MV Lady Jane, Port Manager, Onne Ports Complex, Stanley Yitnoe, who represented the Managing Director, Mohammed Bello-Koko, said that the milestone signposts the fact that the initiatives of the NPA tailored towards repositioning the Eastern ports for productivity are yielding results and that Onne Port Complex is fast becoming an attraction for container vessel traffic. Obviously, more work is needed.