History has been made as the management of the newly built Lekki Port said on Saturday in Lagos that the port received another vessel known as CMA CGM Rabelais, which is the largest vessel to have berthed since the commencement of commercial operations at the port in April 2023.
The vessel, which has a 300-meter Length Overall (LOA) and the capacity to carry an impressive 6,570 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs), is expected to discharge and load an exchange of 200 TEUs while at Lekki Port.
The CMA CGM Rabelais has set a new record for the port and, indeed, the Lagos Pilotage District, as being the largest vessel in ship dimensions to berth in the district, second only to the largest FPSO in the world, Total’s Egina FPSO.
The vessel, which was safely manoeuvred to berth by the Nigerian Ports Authority led by Pilot Fagbo Sayid, sailed from Shanghai and made brief stops at Kribi and Cotonou before sailing to Lekki Port.
Du Ruogang, the managing director of Lekki Port, this milestone attests to the readiness of the port to become a major hub for global trade and logistics, which is evident in its capacity to receive larger vessels.
Garba Gajere, the assistant Harbour Master for Lekki Port, said that a thorough navigation risk assessment was carried out to ensure optimal handling of the vessel.
He described the milestone as one of many to come adding that pilots seconded by NPA to Lekki Port are fully ready to carry out their duties.
Recall that the port received its first commercial vessel, the GSL Alice vessel, on 6th April 2023.
Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited (LPLEL) is the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that was awarded the Concession Agreement for the development and operations of the Lekki Deep Seaport by the Nigerian Ports Authority.
Under the concession agreement, LPLEL is required to develop, build and operate a common user multipurpose port.
LPLEL sub-concessioned the container terminal operations to Lekki Freeport Terminal (LFT) operated by CMA Terminals, a subsidiary of the CMA CGM Group the world’s third largest container shipping company.
