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By Steve Agbota
Nigeria may be on the path of reclaiming its hub status and recovering lost transshipment cargoes snatched by neighbouring countries as biggest vessels have started berthing at Lekki deep seaport.
Barely a week after Maersk Edirne, the biggest largest container ship to visit Nigeria berthed at the Lekki deep seaport, CMA CGM Scandola, the first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)-powered vessel, berthed at the port. It was the also the first in the entire West Africa sub-region.
The vessel has capacity to carry 15,128 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs), a length of 366 meters and a width of 51 meters.
Speaking at the arrival ceremony of the vessel in Lagos recently, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was delighted to witness the berthing of the vessel, said the development has hoisted the flags of Lagos and Nigeria on the global maritime scene.
While commending the management of the port over the positive development, Sanwo-Olu said Nigeria was ready for business and that Lagos would continue to provide bigger facilities for business.
According to him, the port economy would create Nigeria a $1 trillion investment hub by the year 2030, adding that Lagos State will continue to play a critical role to drive the nation’s economy.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Lekki Freeport, Christophe Cassang, said the berthing of the ship was a commitment of the port to transforming the maritime environment in Nigeria. He noted that Lekki Freeport was happy to witness the arrival of the ship and shows that the port was built on international standards.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of Lekki Port,
Du Ruogang, said the berthing of LNG-powered CMA CGM Scandola was a testament to the role being played by Lekki Port and CMA CGM in creating a new maritime face and port development in Nigeria. Ruogang appreciated the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Lagos State Government and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for creating an enabling environment for all the positive developments that are taking place at Lekki Port. He assured stakeholders that the port is developing services that will enhance container operations, adding that in near future, plans are underway to develop supporting services for the container port.
The Managing Director of CMA CGM Nigeria Limited, Hinelder Ferreira, said the calling of CMA CGM Scandola to Lekki Port shows how important and strategic Nigeria is to the business growth of CMA CGM Group and her commitment to decarbonisation.
He said that CMA CGM has committed over a billion dollar to decarbonisation in the next five years, adding that the Group needs more support from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for easy sailing of this type of vessel into Nigeria.
