Recently, history was made at the Onne Port Complex when the Onne Multipurpose Terminal hosted the largest containership ever to carry out full operations at an eastern port.
The containership, named KOTA CEMPAKA and owned by Pacific International Lines (PIL), is 300 metres long and can carry 6,600 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of containers.
On the large container ship’s maiden call at the Onne Port on April 27, 2024, it loaded and discharged over 2,000 containers full of Nigerian imports and exports.
Speaking during a reception on the maiden voyage of the ship to Onne Port, James Stewart, chief operations officer of Onne Multipurpose Terminal (OMT), said the successful berthing of the vessels marked a major milestone for the terminal and for the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
“We are proud that PIL trusts the terminal with handling its large vessels in Onne. 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 Nigerian importers and exporters,” Stewart said.
Also speaking, Jacob Gulmann, managing director of OMT, said, “OMT is partnering with Nigerian Ports Authority to ensure that we are ready for these larger vessels. NPA is working tirelessly to ensure the water depth is 12 meters in the port. This is crucial to allowing this new generation of vessels to call Onne Port. We thank Mohammed Koko-Bello, managing director of NPA, and Raymond Adigun, Onne Port Manager, for their foresight and long-term vision.
He said OMT started operations in 2021 and has since contributed to reducing vessel waiting times in Onne Port while also doubling container capacity and enhancing competition to the benefit of all customers.
“OMT is proud of this milestone which is a testament to the company’s contribution to Nigeria’s logistics sector,” he said.
Gulmann said the achievement would not have been possible without the cooperation of the terminal’s many stakeholders in Nigeria and abroad.
“We thank all our partners. I would also like to congratulate and thank all my OMT colleagues for their dedication and hard work which has made this day possible,” he said.
The Onne Multipurpose Terminal is a state-of-the-art container terminal operating with 750 meters of deep-water berths, 12-meter water depth, two mobile harbour cranes, 15 terminal trucks, seven reach stackers, three empty handlers, and 125 reefer plugs.
The terminal is powered by an in-house power station and run by the latest IT systems from Navis Terminal Operating System and SAP, making it possible for it to handle all types of cargo.
