(MARITIME) CMA CGM SCANDOLA: LEKKI PORT RECEIVES LARGEST LNG POWERED VESSEL WITH 14,000 TEU

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The first and biggest LNG-powered container ship to navigate the Nigerian seas arrived at the Lekki deep seaport on Monday, marking yet another significant milestone.

Length Overall (LOA): 366 metres, width: 51 metres, and carrying capacity of 14, 812 Twenty Equivalent Units (TEUs) are the dimensions of the ship, CMA CGM SCANDOLA.

This occurs just one week after the 13,092 TEU MAERSK EDIRNE, with a breath of 48.2 metres and an overall length of 367 metres, was berthed at the Lekki port.

Adegboyega Oyetola, the minister of marine and blue economy, praised Lekki Port’s environmentally friendly practices during his remarks during the arrival ceremony on Monday in Lagos.

According to him, this is in line with the Green House Gas (GHG) Strategy 2023 of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), which aims to lower the carbon intensity of international shipping by at least 40% by 2030.

Speaking on behalf of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Managing Director Muhammad Bello Koko, Oyetola stated that the ministry will keep helping the NPA in its endeavors to guarantee that stakeholders are adhering to the IMO Sulphur Regulation on the country’s waterways.

He went on to say that the ministry has implemented a sanctions system for vessels that violate sulfur laws and has made significant progress towards acquiring the instruments required to improve the NPA’s ability to analyze sulfur.

“The Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is convinced that shipping has a pivotal role to play in global decarbonization efforts. This is why I will like to seize this moment to commend the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority’s compliance with the Ministerial directive to take cognizance of global energy transition in its port modernization project by deliberately factoring in measures that promote energy efficiency.

“The imperative of making our ports eco-friendly is no fluke.

“The driver of this change is the need to minimize the air pollution created in the shipping industry by reducing the Sulphur content of the fuels that ships use. So transition to the use of natural gas which is more environmentally friendly by vessels plying our waterways is a most welcome development.

“To put action behind our word, we have taken concrete steps towards the procurement of necessary tools to enhance NPA’s capacity for Sulphur analysis as well as put in place a sanction regime for vessels who contravene the Sulphur regulations. This is driven by in the larger national interest due to the fact that Nigeria’s gas quality is reputed to be high and virtually without Sulphur.

“I have said all of these to show that we align with the global discourse which posits that the reduction in the use of heavy hydrocarbons and increasing the use of LNG in maritime transport could help reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other pollution arising from international trade. This is a step in the right direction as we confront the challenges associated with climate change and air quality,” he said.

Oyetola added that apart from its distinctive feature of eco-friendliness, “Scandola” ranks amongst the largest container ships to be calling in West Africa with 15,000 TEUs.

Also speaking, Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo- Olu, said the milestone recorded by the port within just a year of its operations has put Lagos and indeed Nigeria into the global logistics marine business.

He added that the arrival of this large size of vessel has successfully enshrined the names of Lagos and Nigeria as one of the big movers of port transactions in the world.

“I think it’s a big feat. It’s something that we really need to roll out drums for and be proud of because what this is about is, indeed putting Lekki Freeport, Lagos Nigeria into the world’s global logistics marine business.

“This is a business that has been privileged to a few developed countries in America, in Europe, in the Far East, in some parts of Africa as well. But now, given the size of the vessels that we can receive, the size of the business that can come to our community, the Lekki port and the Lekki Free port terminal has put and enshrined our name as one of the big movers of port transactions in the worldworld.

“It is not taking anything away from the Lagos Ports, from the Apapa Port, or from the Tin Can Port. We know from time, and we’ve said it over and over again, that those ports were developed at a time when capacity of Nigeria was what is it but our capacity has since grown, and we knew as a nation that we needed to think out of the box to build bigger infrastructure, bigger facilities, and we’re excited that we found a home in Lekki, in Ibeju Lekki here in Lagos, and also build a home for the Lekki Deep Port.
“Today, I’m excited and I’m delighted that I’ve been given the honor to also come and witness the arrival of this big port. And I think it speaks to what this government is about at the federal level, what the conversation has been, that indeed Nigeria, is ready for business.

“Nigeria is creating a business environment that investors can see that indeed this is a government that is committed, that is showing that businesses can thrive, can do well, and we can really win what we say.

“But more importantly for us in Lagos is to say to you that we’re excited, that these are exciting times for us. We believe we still have capacity for a lot more. We believe that Lagos can still take a lot more, ” he said.

Managing Director of Lekki Deep Seaport, Du Rougang, in his remarks, said that the berthing of the vessel is creating a new plan for Nigerian ports.

“We want to ensure that Lekki Port plays a major role in the nation’s maritime industry, “he said.