Onne port berths ‘largest’ cargo vessel — second time in 3 months

The Onne Multipurpose Terminal (OMT) says it has received the “largest container ship ever” to carry out full operations at Nigeria’s eastern ports.

The vessel christened ‘Kota Cempaka’, owned by Pacific International Lines (PIL), is 300 metres long, and can carry 6,600 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers.

According to Jim Stewart, chief operating officer (CEO) at OMT, this is the second visit of the ship to the terminal in three months.

Stewart said the vessel was received on August 5 by the officials of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and OMT.

He said the ship’s first visit to the port was on April 27 when it loaded and discharged over 2,000 containers full of Nigerian imports and exports.

“The arrival of such large vessels is part of a global trend where shipping lines are upscaling vessel sizes to achieve economies of scale and reduce transport costs for importers and exporters,” Stewart said.

Stewart said the visit of the Kota Cempaka to Nigeria would support the efforts of the federal government to diversify the country’s economic base by boosting non-oil exports.

He said it would also generate more revenues into the coffers of the government.

“Again, we are excited that this very large container ship has been able to return for the second time in three months,” he said.

“This is a mark of confidence in Nigeria, in Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and in the professionalism of the Onne Multipurpose Terminal.”

The chief operating officer also commended Abubakar Dantsoho, the managing director of NPA, and the port manager of Onne Port Complex, for making the port channels navigable and for equipping the NPA harbours department to handle such large ships.

“We are proud of this milestone. We started operations only three years ago, and we are happy to contribute to reducing vessel waiting times in Onne Port while also doubling container capacity and enhancing competition to the benefit of all customers,” Stewart added.

“We are investing in new equipment including more modern cranes to enable us handle even bigger vessels. We have also acquired trucks and lands for expansion.”

On his part, Hussein Abdulrahmon, the port manager of Onne Port, who represented the managing director of NPA, said Kota Cempaka brought in more cargoes on the second voyage to the port than it did during its first call.

He commended OMT and other stakeholders for the successful berthing, discharging, and loading of the vessel.

OMT handles containerised, oil and gas, and other cargo types. It is the first terminal of call at the Onne Port Complex, located in Onne’s oil and gas free zone.