Hapag Lloyd, the world’s 5th largest shipping line, is now utilising the expanded connectivity, capacity and capabilities of the MPS Terminal 3 at the Tema port to tranship the traffic between South Africa and Europe in Tema.
This is in fulfilment of the decision announced by Hapag-Lloyd on 1st October 2019 held in Cape Town, South Africa and subsequent to the successful completion of the Tema Port Expansion Project with its associated superior elements.
MIAX Service Route
The 40-footer refrigerated containers of fresh fruits were discharged from the Middle East-India-Africa Express (MIAX) Service off the Vessel MONTPELLIER for transhipment onto the WAX Service and loaded on the Vessel ABIDJAN EXPRESS, on 5th July, 2020 for onward sail to its destination in Belgium, Europe.
MPS Terminal 3 of Tema Port hereby provides the much-needed connectivity for the two liner services.
Hapag Lloyd World Service Route
“The MPS Terminal 3 of Tema Port was created to facilitate trade by creating newer routes and establish West Africa’s best equipped transhipment hub. This monumental action is a step in the right direction to realizing the potential of this great infrastructure, with this Africa is becoming more integrated into the global shipping network”. ‘ Mr. Mohamed Samara, Chief Executive Officer of MPS stated.
Mr. Samara also mentioned some of the key developments at the MPS Terminal 3 leading to the attainment of the status of a shipping hub.
The MPS Terminal 3 has been developed with sustainable infrastructure fitted with superstructure and the best of the world’s technology to aid its operations. The terminal has optimal characteristics required of hub ports around the world. These include; high efficiency levels, accessibility, frequency of calls, number of shipping lines, the short waiting time at anchorage, fast vessel turnaround time, higher port capacity, and berth availability as well as the highest throughput per vessel call in West Africa.
The Head of Legal and Compliance, Mr Frank Ebo Brown applauded the well-meaning support of the Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority to facilitate trade in the West African Region.
“We must commend the Ghana Revenue Authority for their instrumental role towards translating this long-awaited vision into reality. Since identifying the legal barriers to facilitate transhipment trade, they have advocated and worked together with us on amending the old transhipment laws to allow a much more robust and fluid transhipment process to reflect present happenings in major shipping hubs”.
Middle East India Africa Express (MIAX) Service is the new service which connects South Africa and West Africa to the Middle East and beyond introduced by Hapag Lloyd in October 2019.
Shippers’ Authority, Civil Aviation Authority commit to facilitate trade
The Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) and the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) have renewed commitments to facilitate trade by air through regular inter-agency engagements for the benefit of exporters and importers.
The two state agencies made the pledge when the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, Benonita Bismarck and her team paid a courtesy call on the Aviation Authority.
The visit formed part of the GSA’s strategic plan to deepen its relationship with stakeholders in the shipping and logistics industry with the overall objective of protecting and promoting the interests of shippers in Ghana.
Benonita Bismarck stressed the need for the two organisations to strengthen their collaborative efforts to remove trade bottlenecks inhibiting trade facilitation. She said it was in furtherance to this commitment that the GSA established a Shipper Complaint and Support Unit at the Kotoka International Airport to readily resolve complaints of shippers.
Receiving the delegation, the Deputy Director-General (Technical) of GCAA Ing. Charles Kraikue thanked the GSA for the visit and pledged his outfit’s commitment to work more closely together in the interest of stakeholders.
He expressed his organisation’s willingness to provide the GSA with up-to-date trade statistics on air cargo volumes.
Other issues discussed during the visit were challenges faced by shippers as a result of the implementation of the new Integrated Customs Management System (ICUMS), the need for a centralised database for all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for the registration of shippers among others.
The GSA team also had meetings with officials of the Ghana Airport Company Limited and Air Ghana and discussed other trade facilitation issues at the airport and the way forward to addressing them.
Ghana Navy returns hijacked vessel by pirates to Tema Port
The Ghana flagged Tuna Purse Seine vessel called Panofi Frontier that was hijacked by suspected Nigeria pirates in Benin waters on Wednesday at about 1400 hours has been located and guided to the Tema Port by the Ghana Navy.
It is reported that there were 30 membeber crew on board the vessel, outf which 25 were Ghanaians and 5 were Koreans.
6 crew members, 5 Koreans including captain of the vessel and a Ghanaian cook called Kofi Opuni on boarded the vessel are reported to have been abducted by the pirates and could still not be found at the time the vessel was brought to the Port of Tema by the Ghanaian Navy.
According to the Ghana Navy, they met the vessel at the Ghana-Togo border and brought it to the Port of Tema anchorage on Thursday, 25th June, 2020.
According to the Navy, apart from the 6 crew members who had been captured, the remaining 24 crew were safe and in Ghana but the Navy is still gathering detail information on the entire incidence.
Security agencies at the Port of Tema including the Port Security, Marine Police, Navy and members of the Joint Port Control Units have all joined forces to investigate the incidence to unravel the circumstances leading to the hijack.
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