The management of Lekki Deep Seaport has announced the arrival of Rimbaud, the first transshipment vessel to call at the container terminal of the deep seaport.

A statement by the port said that the vessel owned by CMA CGM shipping company, arrived at the terminal on Thursday.

The statement added that the vessel came with cargo from two of the largest container shipping lines in the world, CMA CGM and Maersk.

According to the statement, the vessel was carrying 411 twenty-foot equivalent units of transshipment cargo and had a nominal container handling capacity of 6,900 TEUs.

The statement read in parts, “The vessel, which arrived at approximately 1.00 pm on Thursday, June 29, 2023, was carrying cargo from two of the largest container shipping lines in the world, CMA CGM and Maersk. The service originated from the far east passing through Shanghai, Ningbo, Shekou, Nansha, TanjungPelpas, and Singapore to Kribi, Cameroun, before finally arriving at Lekki Port this afternoon. The vessel was carrying 411 TEUs of transshipment cargo and has a nominal container handling capacity of 6,900 TEUs.”

Speaking on the development, the Managing Director of Lekki Port, Du Ruogang, thanked the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Nigerian Ports Authority for their support in ensuring the commencement of transshipment activities at Lekki Port.

Also speaking, the Chief Operating Officer of Lekki Port, Laurence Smith, noted that all regulatory agencies operating at the port, particularly the Nigerian Customs Service worked together with Lekki Port and the container terminal operator, Lekki Freeport Terminal, to ensure a hitch-free arrival of the vessel and processing of cargo.

“Lekki Port, with its state-of-the-art Ship to Shore cranes and sophisticated scanners, is now poised to position Nigeria as the preeminent transshipment hub of West Africa. The transshipped cargo will be departing for Cotonou, its final destination, on 6th July 2023,” he said

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