Calabar Seaport Receives 1st Container Vessel In 13 Years

Published 1 on September 27, 2019

By YUSUF BABALOLA



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Thirteen years after its concession, Calabar Port Complex has received its maiden Marguisa Shipping Line’s container vessel. The port has not enjoyed patronage of container liners due to draft limitations on the channel. Currently, Calabar channel has a draft of 6.4 meters at high tide, but requires Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) to complete the dredging to the advertised draft of 9.4 meters to attract regular and bigger tonnage. But the berthing of the MV Boreas in Calabar signifies a milestone achieved through the strategic marketing of Ecomarine Terminals Limited, a terminal concessionaire in Calabar port.

The vessel has length of 116.23 meters, gross tonnage of 6569 and net tonnage of 2874. Built in 2007, the vessel working for a Spain based Marguisa, came with both laden and empty containers and securely anchored at ECM Terminals at about 13.27 HRS on Monday 23 September.

The general manager, ECM, Diran Akorede, who confirmed this said: “The berthing of the container vessel at our facility on Monday was the crowning moment of the several marketing efforts to attract a liner service to Calabar over the years.

“In October last year, we had preliminary discussion with Marguisa representative on possibility of commencing calls to Calabar. To make the call viable to Marguisa, we made several concessions on rates and co-opted other stakeholders into the efforts followed with road shows to sensitise potential clients. The maiden call of the vessel was the outcome of such efforts spearheaded by Ecomarine in conjunction with Marguisa.”



Akorede said, in preparation for receipt of container vessel, the terminal has invested massively on container handling equipment from inception of the concession most of which have been idle ever since.

“We are ISO certified and have well documented processes to ensure transparency and efficiency in our service delivery,” he said. “Our systems are fully automated and the facility is fully ISPS compliant. We also have paved stacking area that has remained unutilised over the years. For us, we have been prepared from the inception and therefore handled the discharge operations in the best professional manner.



“As a port, our pact with Marguisa is to provide and ensure efficient service delivery, quick turnaround for their vessel and incentive scheme to support their voyage profitability.

For us, the pact remains as long as the vessel continue to call our terminal.”

Akorede said ECM terminal is ready to receive more container vessels with its ultra-modern cargo handling equipment. Calabar Port has been plagued by the challenge of low draft due to the failure of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to dredge the channel to the advertised draft of 9.4m and since shipping has evolved to bigger tonnages requiring deeper draft, the port has been seriously constrained.

The ECM manager therefore urged NPA to urgently complete the dredging of the channel to the advertised draft of 9.4m to ease the difficulty in attracting container vessel to the terminal.



He also enjoined the ports authority to introduce a more effective incentive scheme such as the 30 per cent rebate hitherto in place before the concession.

To further facilitate patronage and easy evacuation of cargoes, he said the government should ensure quick completion of the road contract from Odukpani Junction through Ikot Ekpene to Aba, already awarded to Julius Berger.



However, he acknowledged the purposeful partnership they have enjoyed with NPA over the years, especially the commitment of the managing director of NPA, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman who from inception of her tenure has given priority attention to resolving some of the key challenges that have bedevilled the port while emphasising the need for her to ensure the completion of the dredging.

https://leadership.ng/2019/09/27/calabar-seaport-receives-1st-container-vessel-in-13-years/

Really

Good to know..

So the Calabar port was small to receive vessels n someone was president for 6 years n did nothing about it?


I Love PMB

[/b]The ECM manager therefore urged NPA to urgently complete the dredging of the channel to the advertised draft of 9.4m to ease the difficulty in attracting container vessel to the terminal.[b]

Them go soon come to wail O!

Okoroawusa:
So the Calabar port was small to receive vessels n someone was president for 6 years n did nothing about it?


I Love PMB

Very annoying I must tell you, wailers won't be happy with this news

They didn't see this one to work on ohh, Instead they are working on the 3rd seaport in one state

slimderek:
They didn't see this one to work on ohh, Instead they are working on the 3rd seaport in one state

We had a president on the saddle for six years who didnt deem it fit to do it.

yeye country

kayusely70:
We had a president on the saddle for six years who didnt deem it fit to do it.

That one was another failure that was too scared to usurp the powers that be.

slimderek:
They didn't see this one to work on ohh, Instead they are working on the 3rd seaport in one state

The third seaport is being built by the Lagos state government. What is your own state government doing?

Keep electing failures as Governors, your children would ask you.

slimderek:
They didn't see this one to work on ohh, Instead they are working on the 3rd seaport in one state

The 4th one is coming up soon. Hope insecurity won't chase away investors as it is with other eastern ports.

This is what the son of the land couldn't do

And he is an Hero to some people.. Chai

unbitchable:

The 4th one is coming up soon. Hope insecurity won't chase away investors as it is with other eastern ports.

Let's hope the city survives the congestion caused by the greed of a few elites.

Okoroawusa:
So the Calabar port was small to receive vessels n someone was president for 6 years n did nothing about it?


I Love PMB

Goatluck Jonathan wanted to do something and actually made provision to do something by getting some money from the national treasury, but Diezani Allison-Madueke needed to buy some jewelries worth just $40 million, so Goatluck gave her the money

efighter:


Goatluck Jonathan wanted to do something and actually made provision to do something by getting some money from the national treasury, but Diezani Allison-Madueke needed to buy some jewelries worth just $40 million, so Goatluck gave her the money

hahahahaha

slimderek:
They didn't see this one to work on ohh, Instead they are working on the 3rd seaport in one state

Lagos is building that one

efighter:


Goatluck Jonathan wanted to do something and actually made provision to do something by getting some money from the national treasury, but Diezani Allison-Madueke needed to buy some jewelries worth just $40 million, so Goatluck gave her the money

Quite unfortunate..