The maritime community in Nigeria is today celebrating MV Great Lagos, a Grimaldi ship with 250 metres, a beam of 38 metres and deadweight of 45,684 tonnes.
At a colourful ceremony on her arrival in Lagos, Managing Director of Grimaldi Nigeria, owners of Ports Terminal Multi services Limited (PTML) Ascanio Russo described the ship as a great statement on the company’s belief in Nigeria.
On the vessel’s capacity,Russo said over 2000 cars and over 2000 containers can be moved by the ship which according to him is a leap in maritime transportation.
He added that It is a testament of Grimaldi enthusiasm to reduce emission by over 40 percent as it promotes greener shipping and environmentally friendly maritime transportation
The MD stated further that PTML as the largest multi purpose terminal in Nigeria and largest (Roll On Roll Off) Roro vessel. Over $20m invested in the last two years
He said Grimaldi is pushing for operational excellence and efficiency while reinforcing the company’s belief in Nigeria and identifies with the vision of the Nigerian government
He added that the christening of the ship is a celebration of the city of Lagos and greatness of Nigeria
Some twenty years ago Grimaldi had Grande Nigeria , later seventeen years ago, PTML was built and now Grimaldi has built Great Lagos.
The Great Lagos has a length of 250 metres, a beam of 38 metres and deadweight of 45,684 tonnes. Her innovative design combines high loading capacity with great attention to environmental impact: all G5-class ships are able to transport 4,700 linear metres of rolling freight, 2,500 CEU (Car Equivalent Units) and 2,000 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units). Compared to the previous G4-class, the new vessels have the same capacity for rolling freight while their container capacity doubles.
In spite of her increased capacity, thanks to numerous cutting-edge, technological solutions aimed at increasing energy efficiency, the new vessel is able to reduce CO2 emissions per tonne transported of up to 43% compared to other Grimaldi ro-ro multipurpose ships.
Speaking at the event Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, congratulated the Grimaldi Group for the feat and declared further that his door is open for any activity that promotes port efficiency and national economy.
Adeniyi who was represented by Zonal Coordinator in charge of Zone A, ACG Bello Jibo, lauded the consistency of the PTML management while urging them to continually work closely with customs.
President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju speaking at the event challenged the government to emulate Grimaldi and PTML in the areas of workers welfare.
Adeyanju recalled that most workers that served in the defunct Nigeria National Shipping Line( NNSL) have not been paid their terminal entitlements.
