Onne Multipurpose Terminal starts operation 

Onne Multipurpose Terminal (OMT), International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI)’s newest terminal located at the Port of Onne in Rivers State, Nigeria, opened for business in May.

Designed to handle containerized and non-containerized cargo, OMT, which operates berths 9, 10, and 11 of the Federal Ocean Terminal, is the first port of call at the Onne Port Complex. The terminal features a 750-meter-long deep-water quay and a 22-hectare yard area and is equipped with two Gottwald Model 7 mobile harbor cranes – the largest in the country.  

OMT’s operation doubles the modern container handling capacity of Eastern Nigeria, a known oil and gas powerhouse and now a fast-emerging logistics hub. Optimistic about the long-term potential of Nigeria’s economy, ICTSI plans to further invest in port equipment, technology, and other infrastructure improvements to make the terminal’s operations and processes safer, more seamless, and more efficient. 

“We are ready to invest significant funds in OMT. To date, ICTSI has invested USD35 million in state-of-the-art equipment, IT systems, and personnel training. The next step will be major infrastructure works, as well as investments in additional and bigger equipment totaling USD100 million,” said Enrique K. Razon Jr., ICTSI Chairman and President. 

“We will progressively align OMT’s facilities and service capacity to the needs of the diverse customer base the terminal ins intended to serve,” he added. 

Jacob Gulmann, OMT Managing director, said ICTSI is pleased to work with the Nigerian Ports Authority in bringing the area back to life and introducing much-needed capacity and competition to the port:  “Berths 9 to 11 had been languishing, lying virtually unused for the last decade. Now, in partnership with the Nigerian Port Authority, we are bringing the area to life, adding capacity and competition to Onne Port. This is sorely needed as the port is currently experiencing acute congestion with respect to container traffic.”  

OMT welcomed its first vessel, the MSC Floriana, on 2 May and unloaded a total of 1,297 TEUs during the call.  

“We are very proud of the successful operation of the vessel. Our advanced cargo handling systems worked well and our operations and technical teams, all recruited from Rivers State, hit the ground running and performed very successfully. We are very confident that we can build on this achievement and progressively ramp up performance over the quay and landside, to the benefit of all our customers, shipping lines, and cargo owners,” said Robert Uljan, OMT Operations Head. 

OMT’s first vessel, the MSC Floriana, made its maiden port call at OMT on May 2

ICTSI signed a contract with the Nigerian Ports Authority last year to manage, operate, and develop terminal facilities at Berths 9, 10, and 11 of the Federal Ocean Terminal in the Port of Onne. The company has hired and trained hundreds of local employees, a welcome development for local communities who are struggling with the current challenges to the oil and gas sector.