TheCable

The International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), a port management company, says it has commenced container operations at Onne Port, Rivers state.

ICTSI said it has also received its first vessel owned by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) — the world’s biggest shipping line.

In a recent statement, ICTSI said on May 2, MSC Floriana berthed at Onne Multipurpose Terminal (OMT) located at berths 9, 10, and 11 at Federal Ocean Terminal, Onne Port. It said OMT offloaded 1,297 containers from the ship.

In March 2021, ICTSI had inked a lease agreement to develop a multipurpose terminal in Onne Port.

ICTSI said its subsidiary, International Container Terminal Services Nigeria Ltd. (ICTSNL), will take charge of the project (OMT) in agreement with the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA).

Jacob Gulmann, managing director of OMT, had said during the terminal opening that: “It has been a pleasure to work with the Nigerian Ports Authority to realize this project. Berths 9-11 had been languishing, lying virtually unused for the last decade.

“Now, in partnership with NPA, we are bringing the area to life, adding capacity and competition to Onne Port”.

According to the statement, OMT container operations doubles “Eastern Nigeria’s modern container handling capacity and providing a catalyst to the region’s economic growth”.

Speaking on the new development, Robert Uljan, head of operations at OMT, said: “We are all very proud of the successful operation of the vessel. Our advanced cargo handling systems worked well and our operations and technical teams, all recruited from Rivers State, hit the ground running and performed very successfully.

“We are very confident we can build on this achievement and progressively ramp up performance over the quay and landside to the benefit of all of our customers, shipping lines and cargo owners.”

Also, Enrique Razon, chairman/president of ICTSI, said: “These are just the first steps. We are bullish on the long-term prospects for the Nigerian economy and we are ready to invest significant funds in OMT.

“To-date, ICTSI has invested USD35 million in state-of-the-art equipment, IT systems and personnel training.

“The next step will be major infrastructure works as well as investments in additional and bigger equipment totalling USD100 million.

“We will progressively align OMT’s facilities and service capacity to the needs of the diverse customer base the terminal is intended to serve.”

ICTSI further said that Pacific International Line’s 3900TEU capacity Kota Sejarah was second vessel to berth after MSC Floriana.