The Lekki deep seaport on Friday recorded yet another milestone with the berthing of CMA CGM Rabelais, which is the largest vessel to have berthed since the commencement of commercial operations at the port in April 2023.
Announcing the development, the management of Lekki port said the vessel, which has a 300m Length Overall (LOA) and the capacity to carry an impressive 6570 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) will be discharging and loading an exchange of 200 TEUs while at Lekki Port.
The CMA CGM Rabelais has set a new record for the port and 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, safely manoeuvered to berth by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) led by Pilot Fagbo Sayid, sailed from Shanghai and made brief stops at Kribi and Cotonou before sailing to Lekki Port.
According to the Managing Director, Lekki Port, Du Ruogang, 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.
Also speaking on the milestone, the Assistant Harbour Master for Lekki Port, Captain Garba Gajere, explained that a thorough navigation risk assessment was carried out to ensure optimal handling of the vessel.
Gajere described the milestone as one of many to come noting that pilots seconded by NPA to Lekki Port are fully ready to carry out their duties.
It would be recalled that the port received its first commercial vessel, the GSL Alice vessel, on 6th April 2023.
