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Feb 1 2024

Transshipment Ambitions Augmented as 1st LNG-Powered-Vessel Calls Port of Tema

Only a week after the 366-meter-long 13,676 TEU Maersk Edirne left the Port of Tema, a similar-sized containership called the Port. The CMA CGM Scandola Valletta is the second of thirteen vessels of the same class designated for the newly introduced West Africa Express Service (WAX), where Tema is the first port of call. The 366-meter, 15,128 TEU vessel sailing under the flag of Malta is also the first LNG-powered vessel to call the Port of Tema, showcasing the commitment of the shipping industry towards a more sustainable future. The Lady CMA CGM berthed at the port, carrying 9,161 TEUs bound for West Africa with 4,939 TEUs destined for discharge in Tema. Among these, 1,938 TEUs of transshipment boxes have been reloaded into feeder vessels for their final destination in other ports in the region. A delegation consisting of the Minister for Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, the Director of Port, Tema, Sandra Opoku, the management of MPS, a team from CMA CGM, and some key customers of the shipping line visited the berthing site to witness this historic event. Oussama Yakra, Cluster Managing Director for Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia at CMA CGM, said, “The first port to be called in West Africa is Tema, and it's not a coincidence. It’s just the fruit of a long-term vision that Ghana made several years ago, and today it's only the fruit of that vision.” Indeed, Tema is gradually living up to its hub port ambition, and the CEO of MPS, Mohammed Samara, expressed optimism that this will give a shot in the arm to Ghana's goal of becoming an ideal destination for investments. “The West Africa market is a huge market; we have about 3 to 400 million people; Nigeria alone has 220 million—consumers and producers included. If we are able to tap into this kind of global economy through Ghana becoming a hub not only for trade but also for industry, it will be great. This is something really interesting that we should actually encourage and pursue. This is the dream for Ghana and AfCFTA to create interconnectivity within the region and the wider continent in the long run,” he said. The Director of Port, Tema, Sandra Opoku, said the Port Authority recognizes the efforts shipping lines are making to augment the maritime trade in the region, and her outfit will do its best to complement such efforts. “Being one of the biggest ships to call at MPS, we at Tema Port are excited, and it's good that it came at this time when we have also augmented our tugboats that can bring in these big vessels. Kudos to my marine operations team for making sure that we bring this vessel to berth safely, and this is our commitment to you and to all the other shipping lines that we are ready to serve you,” she expressed. The Minister for Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, stated that this historic event is one of the indications that Ghana is committed to protecting the environment.

Jan 04 2024

GPHA Commissions Two Damen Tugboats to Boost Marine Operations at the Ports

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority has commissioned two new Damen tugboats as part of efforts to fortify the efficiency of the Ports of Ghana. The two heavy-duty tugboats, which can berth any post-Panamax vessel, were christened after two former Directors General of the Port Authority, namely Group Captain (Rtd) Edward Alexander A. Awuviri and Nestor Percy Galley. They are expected to play a crucial role in ensuring the efficiency and safety of Ghana’s maritime activities and also contributing to the prosperity and progress of the nation. Speaking at an impressive ceremony, a Deputy Minister of Transport Alhassan Tampuli, who represented the Minister of Transport, said with the expansion at Terminal 3 at the Port of Tema and ongoing initiatives to bring in some of the world’s largest merchant ships, it is useful to expand the port’s marine operational capabilities. He said for Ghana to compete favourably in today’s maritime space, infrastructure and modern equipment must be provided, and that is what the government has set out to support and encourage since taking office. “This occasion further demonstrates our commitment to fostering economic growth, ensuring maritime safety and positioning Ghana as a beacon of maritime excellence in the West African subregion. The government's commitment to port and maritime sectors in general is indeed is seen with the significant investment in infrastructure and service improvements across our ports.” The Board Chairman of GPHA, Isaac Osei, said the commissioning of tugboats, coupled with the massive expansion works at the Port of Takoradi, lay credence to the premium the government places on the enhancement and improvement of infrastructure in the ports. “In a world where Maritime safety is paramount, it is additionally vital to know that these tugboats have in-built firefighting apparatus to help in the mitigation of fire incidents, so by investing in these powerful and versatile tugboats, we are not only addressing the current needs of our ports, but we are also looking at the marine capabilities to accommodate the evolving demands of the shipping industry in the future.” The Director-General of GPHA, Michael Luguje, paid glowing tributes to the two former Directors-General for the strength, resilience, and dedication to duty they exhibited during their tenure. “Our two distinguished former DGs that we are honoring—I think we need one whole week to tell you the history. I can only say congratulations; we are proud of them for all the work they've done - Group Captain Awuviri for being the founding father of GPHA when three different state agencies had to merge into one. You can imagine. Even struggling with just one GPHA, it is not easy and somebody has to merge three distinguished organizations into one and get them to set up and work effectively. You can imagine the trouble he went through at that time as the head and all his team members who worked with him, so congratulations! We are very proud of you. God bless you for preparing the grounds. And to Mr. Galley, 32 years of serving the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority at various levels, not just in Ghana. He was the one Ghana chose to go and help Sierra Leone reform their ports,” the current GPHA boss said about his predecessors. The honorees expressed their gratitude to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority for recognizing their contribution to the port authority.

Dec 15 2023

7 Trains Transshipped from Port of Tema to DR Congo

The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority has demonstrated over the years, its human and technical capabilities in handling a wide range of cargo types for import, export, transit, and transshipment. Last week, the Port of Tema successfully turned around seven (7) train wagons received from Japan for some minor maintenance work and onward transshipment to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Deputy Logistics Manager at the Port of Tema, Ing. Prince Ayisi, indicated that the Port of Tema was selected because it was befitting of the operation. He said the port is ever-ready to handle such unconventional cargo types. “If I should just try to recall, in 2020 we handled a helicopter that was disassembled and exported to Australia. This year, we did the same thing again. We did two helicopters. And this time we are doing coaches as transshipment. It is trying to tell us that with the expertise that we have, we are prepared for any challenge that the client would like to put on us and also try to support their operations in the industry of shipping,” Ing. Ayisi told Eye on Port. Country Manager for OMA Logistics Ghana, Samir Sheth, whose company served as the logistics agent for the shipment, said the decision to transship through the Port of Tema has paid off. He said he was pleased with how invested every person in the working chain was in the successful transshipment.

Dec 15 2023

Tema Port to Become First Port of Call in West Africa

The Chief Executive Officer of Meridian Port Services (MPS) Ltd., Mohamed Samara, has confirmed that, beginning January 2024, the Port of Tema will become the first port of call in West Africa under a Maersk-CMA-CGM West Africa Express (WAX) service on the Far East-West Africa maritime trade route. This adds up to an existing direct call by the world's leading shipping line, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), at the port. According to the MPS CEO, who was speaking on the niche Eye on Port TV program, these milestones reflect the faith these shipping majors have in the world-class Terminal 3 in Tema, Ghana. Mr. Samara intimated that this move will shorten the time it takes for transshipped goods to reach Ghana as well as transit time for landlocked countries using Ghana's ports. "Basically, what this means is that the ship leaves TPT in Malaysia and lands in Tema in 21 days, which is the shortest transit time for a port in Africa with the Far East, and that is quite an achievement enabled by infrastructure at Terminal 3," Mo stated. He disclosed that this, coupled with the enviable location of Tema, has boosted the port's fortunes in the transshipment segment. "We have attracted trade between China and some countries that have challenges in taking the big ships. The big ships came to us, and then we transshipped the cargo to neighboring ports. Trade between China and Brazil, for example, some big lines called Tema and the Cross-Atlantic service picks it up and sends to Brazil. Another line was exporting citrus from Cape Town to Europe. They have a service coming from Europe and another from the Middle East and they all crisscross in Tema. The Middle East via Cape Town service picked up the containers into Tema and a day later, the Europe service docked in Tema. We loaded it with the citrus from Cape Town into Europe. We have created here an intercontinental hub. This model was never done before because of port capabilities and infrastructure," Mr. Samara indicated. This new WAX service, he said, will have an exponential effect on Ghana's transshipment numbers. He was speaking on the back of the launch of phase 2 of the Tema Port Expansion, where a fleet of 15 state-of-the-art gantry cranes were delivered at the terminal in addition to the commencement of civil works for a 270,000-square-meter area which will expand the terminal's footprint from 100 hectares to an impressive 127 hectares. He said the entire yard space is expected to be completed by September 2025 with 50,000 square meters of the yard space expected to be ready by July 2024. According to Mo, with the successful completion of phase 2 of the port expansion, Terminal 3 will boast of a handling capacity of 3.5 million TEUs, making it "the biggest port in West Africa."