Eastern Port Welcomes 9,971 TEU, One Of The Largest Container Ships To Call Nigeria

At 1620 hours on Saturday, the Federal Ocean Terminal (FOT), Onne in Rivers State, hosted a Maerskline Stardelhorn vessel, a 9,971(TEUs) capacity container ship, the largest vessel to ever call at any Nigerian port, according to Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

BIGPEN learnt that the gigantic ship, a flagship from Singapore, has the length overall of 300 metres, and width of 48 metres,.

“The Maersk line Stardelhorn vessel with Length overall of 300 metres, width of 48 metres was received at the Federal Ocean Terminal (FOT), Onne in Rivers State at 1620 hours on Saturday, August 15, 2020. The vessel, which has a capacity of 9,971(TEUs) is a flagship from Singapore”, NPA’s General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, Jatto A Adams, said in a statement.

“The Authority is delighted to state that the landmark arrival of the biggest gearless Maerskline vessel at the Onne Ports is a result of management’s determination to improve the patronage of the Eastern Ports.

“The vessel, which was brought in from Fairway Bouy Bonny with the aid of three Tugboats operated by three of the Authority’s pilots was received by Ports Manager of the Onne Ports, Mr. Alhasssan Abubakar,” NPA disclosed in the statement.

“It is an indication of the fact that the Eastern Ports are equipped to receive all manner of vessels and an expansion of the options of consignees in the Eastern and northern parts of the country.”

The NPA Management, however, congratulated its team at the Onne Ports for successfully berthing the container.

“Management also appreciates all stakeholders at the Onne Ports for their cooperation towards seeing that the vessel berthed safely without any challenge.

“The Authority assures of its commitment to ensuring that all ports locations in Nigeria work at their optimal capacity and the repositioning of Nigerian ports as the hub in the sub-region,” the statement said.

BIGPEN however gathered that in December 1, 2016, a 4,651 TEU (Twenty-foot Unit) ship presumed to be the largest then had berthed at the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos terminal of the Ports & Cargo Handling Services Limited, a subsidiary of Sifax Group.

According to one of the reports, the vessel, MSC Shaula, owned and operated by MSC Ship Management Hong Kong, the Asian division of Mediterranean Shipping Company, was described as the second largest container shipping operator in the world.

The Group Managing Director, Sifax, Mr. John Jenkins, was quoted to have said that the ship overall length was 275.04m and the length between perpendiculars stood at 263.00 meters.

MSC Shaula, built by the Hyundai Heavy Industries, has a maximum cargo capacity of 4,651 20-foot equivalent units, while its draft and gross tonnage were given as 13.62m and 51,836, respectively, he said.