M.R.S puts Tincan on global shipping map with first 80,000MT vessel in Africa

…set to save the country US$120 million per annum.

Nigeria has been put on the global shipping map with the berthing of the first ever 80,000MT vessel at the MRS depot jetty, located at the Tincan terminal, Apapa, Lagos.
Sayyu Dantata,chairman MRS Gas Company Limited, disclosed the milestone achieved by MRS when Stuart Symington, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, paid a working visit to MRS depot jetty located at the heart of the Tin Can Island Port, Apapa, on Wednesday.
Dantata took the US ambassador and his visiting team on a tour of the sprawling MRS facility which is currently undergoing expansion and upgrade.
Expressing his pleasant surprise that the US ambassador took time out of his busy schedule to pay a visit to his terminal, Dantata disclosed that MRS has been working quietly to rehabilitate and expand the jetty since a barge explosion occurred there in 2013.
“We made a deliberate decision to rebuild our jetty to meet international standards.  Over the years, we have diligently put in all our time and overcome numerous challenges to get to this point. I am grateful that the ambassador found the time to appreciate us.  The vessel, MT Lila Victoria berthed at our jetty last week, with deadweight of 75,000MT, which is the first of its kind in any African port. Our achievement here is that we have put Tincan terminal in Nigeria into the international shipping arena for 80,000mt to 120,000mt vessels calling a port within Africa. We are proud to announce this milestone achievement for this country.
“With our capability to berth vessels this size, we can conveniently save the country a minimum of about $2 million per voyage and this can be as much as $120 million per annum currently wasted due to ship to ship operations, shallow draft and delays. Imagine what we are going to save this country especially in these times of foreign exchange challenge.”
Dantata expressed sadness that it took the person of the US ambassador to come all the way to visit and appreciate the enormity and significance of the M.R.S jetty to the Nigerian economy, pledging to increase the scope of his investments in the country.
“I am further encouraged by the honour done to us by this visit and will continue to invest diligently in the country because Nigeria has been good to me” Dantata said.
He further expressed his gratitude to the former managing of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Habibu Abdullahi, who assisted M.R.S with approvals and the new managing director, Hadiza Usman, who has continued to encourage M.R.S in upgrading and promoting Tincan Island Port into a port operating with global standards.

The US ambassador, Symington, in his remarks after touring the multi-layered facility, praised the management of MRS for its huge investment and workforce of about 2,000 direct employees and half a million indirect workers.
“I am impressed with the quality of workforce and level of technology deployed in running this facility.” He also praised the company for its vision, African spread and national presence. He commended MRS, for its diverse workforce that has seen to the massive growth of the company in record time.
He further commended MRS partnership with global companies, with particular emphasis on US companies, expressing confidence in the mutually beneficial business relationship between M.R.S and its US partners.
MRS is an African conglomerate in diverse activities, focused on capturing the entire value chain in oil trading, shipping, storage, distribution and retailing. With origins in Nigeria,  it plays leading  positions in fuels and lubricants market in Cameroon, Benin, Togo and Cote D’Ivoire.