Meridian Port Services Limited (MPS) received the Maersk Cunene vessel at Berth Number 19 at Terminal 3 in the early hours of September 14, 2022 at the Port of Tema.
Having a Fixed Berthing Window arrangement at MPS Terminal 3 and berthing on arrival, the Maersk Cunene became a sight to behold with the 6 cranes made available for its operations.
The MPS core operational team and support staff demonstrated their dexterity by working in good time to allow the vessel the shortest possible stay in the port – for less than a day; eventually the vessel’s operations were completed in 22 hours and 45 minutes. The nett crane productivity was in a range between 24 and 31 moves per hour and overall nett vessel productivity was over 122 moves per hour; and with 6 STS cranes being simultaneously in operation, in due course the vessel was completed with an average 89.62 moves per hour.
Mr. Curtiss Dakpogan, Chief Operations Officer (COO) of MPS, stated that the carrying capacity of Maersk Cunene is 4,496 TEU with 249m Length Overall and Beam of 38m. She arrived with 12.90m draft and had a high Crane Density of 4.4 – achieved by optimising the deployment of Ship to Shore gantry cranes to match her stowage plans; hence, the MPS operations team started operations with 6 STS cranes then geared down to 4 and finally 2 STS cranes to complete the 3,065 TEUs’ discharge and loading in 1,922 crane moves.
“Certainly, this is a top productivity record for such a class of vessel,” said the COO of MPS.
Berthing Window relevance
Regarded for its foresight in promptly responding to changes in the world container market and striving to attain global standards, MPS is credited as the first Container Terminal to introduce the Berthing Window Scheme in the sub-region, and continues to effectively operate it.
The Berthing Window is an arrangement in which shipping lines are allocated fixed weekly slots of time alongside the quay at MPS Terminal 3, with the requisite equipment for guaranteeing productivity and service levels for their vessels. This has diminished waiting times at anchorage and the associated congestion surcharges which are still being applied on traffic at several ports; thus saving cost to the nation and increasing liner vessel utilisation among many others.
Speaking on the berthing window agreement’s relevance, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Meridian Port Services Limited, Mr. Mohammed Samara said: “Benefits of the berthing window arrangement go far beyond poet’s status. On one hand it has made the operations more organised, reduced time spent in anchorage and helped shipping lines to plan for a fixed time of arrival.
“In the end the customers benefit massively from this because the importers and exporters know when the goods are expected to depart or arrive, and communicate that to those in the chain who need to plan to send or recieve the goods,” said Mr. Samara
