The Grimaldi Group, one of the largest shipping passenger transport operators in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, has christened one of its largest vessels in the new G5 class of ro/ro multipurpose ships after the Port of Tema.
At an impressive ceremony at the Port of Tema to christen the vessel MV Great Tema, the Managing Director of Grimaldi Ghana, Walter Aceti said the company has been an active stakeholder in the shipping industry in Ghana for the past 40years.
“The arrival of Great Tema is a celebration of the port, the Tema community and the whole nation. It’s a symbol of hope and a source of inspiration, and a reminder of the greatness of Ghana. Together we are setting sail towards a horizon filled with opportunity, growth and shared success,” he said.
A representative of the Grimaldi Ship owners, Guiseppe Patane explained the rationale for naming the vessel after the Port of Tema.
“So the choice of naming this ship the Great Tema is a clear sign of confidence and also appreciation of the association between the Grimaldi Group and the Port of Tema. Actually, we believe that it’s fitting perfectly that such a fine ship is named after such a fine Port. Also because the Port of Tema from now on will be one of the main homes of this ship in future.”
The Italian Ambassador to Ghana, Daniela D’Orlandi disclosed that the volume of bilateral trade between Ghana and Italy reached almost 700million Euros in the year 2023, adding that there is the need for more opportunities and growth.
The Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Michael Luguje lauded the Grimaldi Group for their collaboration with Ghana’s Ports and assured them of their dedication to nurture the relationship they have established in order to create more enabling opportunities like this in the future.
“I’m happy that this vessel didn’t come here empty, it came with cargo meant for Ghana. Which means that majority of shippers in this country and traders still believe in Ghana’s ports and they have Ghana’s ports as their choice of destination. That is why this vessel loaded Ghana bound cargo to be discharged in our ports. We are grateful to these customers and we are grateful of course to the Grimaldi Group for all these years, and for naming the ship after Tema.
For us at the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority our role within the economy of Ghana is to provide enabling infrastructure and systems that will make Ghana the best destination for trade. I think we’ve played this role quite well and if I may just draw your attention to the fact that today, apart from Ghana’s history as the star of Africa, Tema is also the Center of the world, so naturally we have a leading role by geography and we haven’t forgotten that our governments have supported the Ports Authority to position Ghana’s Ports in this height,” the GPHA Boss highlighted.
He said Ghana has the leading container terminal in West and Central Africa, and the leading dry bulk terminal revealing that a new oil and gas services terminal will be commissioned by the end of 2024 at the Port of Takoradi.
A Deputy Minister for transport, Fredrick Obeng Adom stated that government is keen on improving port infrastructure in order to facilitate port businesses and operations.
He averred that government is committed to achieve the green shipping agenda.
He said, “government sees the private sector players in the port and shipping
value chain as partners for National development. government and for that matter the ministry is committed and indeed has been implementing policies and programs towards achieving the green shipping agenda indeed in 2023 Ghana was privileged to host the IMO green shipping conference and also actively participated in the COP28 in Dubai, UAE I want to use this opportunity to commend the Grimaldi Group and your partners for your effort not only in bringing the state of the art vessel to Ghana but by so doing attracting port investment and businesses to Ghana Port through your network”
