Bayo Akomolafe 
No fewer than 411 Twenty Equivalent Units of trans-hipment cargoes to landlocked countries landed at Lekki Deep Sea Port on yesterday. The cargoes were ferried to the port by CMA CGM RIMBAUD, the first transshipment vessel to call at the container terminal of the port.
The vessel, which arrived at approximately 1.00pm on Thursday, June 29, 2023, contained 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, Tanjung Pelpas, Singapore to Kribi, Cameroun, before finally arriving at Lekki Port this afternoon.
The vessel carries 411 TEUs of transshipment cargo and has a nominal container handling capacity of 6,900 TEUs. Speaking on the mile- stone, the Managing Director of Lekki Port, Du Ruogang, expressed his appreciation to the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Nigerian Ports Authority for the support in ensuring the start of transshipment activities at Lekki Port.
Also, the Chief Operating Officer, 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 Free- port 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 July 6, 2023.
