Group partner and terminal operator on barge operations

The West Africa Container terminal in Onne, Rivers State, owned by APM Terminals, announced that it has collaborated with Ibeto Group to start barging operations in an effort to facilitate cargo delivery.

The terminal operator announced in a statement that the partnership had received its first barge call, which was a noteworthy achievement in the first quarter of this year for the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between WACT and Ibeto Group.

The relationship, according to the company, aims to foster strategic cooperation in container barging between WACT Onne and the Port Harcourt Ibeto terminal.

Speaking at a recent event to commemorate the first-ever barge call in Onne Port, Frederik Klinke, CEO of APM Terminals, Nigeria, called the development a major turning point in WACT’s history.

According to him, the MOU marked the end of a procedure that lasted for a few years.

In order to “create a product that enhances the offering that exists in the terminal to enable customers to choose between taking delivery of their containers through trucks or barges, thereby bypassing the sometimes difficult road conditions,” he said the group has been collaborating with shipping line partners in addition to the Ibeto Group.

Klinke claims that because the terminal is an infrastructure business, it consistently makes long-term investments.

“We are very happy with the partnership we have developed with Ibeto and expect it to be a long-term partnership,” he remarked.

Chika Umeh, the sales manager for WACT, called the occasion “epochal,” emphasizing that the new product was the result of listening to customer feedback and growing WACT’s reach.

“The aim is first to give the customers what they are asking. What they are asking for is proximity to their warehouse, and cost efficiency. And the reason we picked Ibeto was because we saw the facility on the ground and saw the APM Terminals spirit in the chairman, the passion and drive,’’ Umeh stressed.

Also, WACT Operations Manager, Fanick Atchia, stated, “At APM Terminals, our purpose is to improve life for all and to find a way to bring the cargo closer to the customer, to bring the imports, exports, and empty containers closer to the customers.”

According to Cyril Obiora, the operations manager of Ibeto Group, the relationship was created out of a desire to provide the finest possible service to the importing and exporting sector.

“It is a ground-breaking partnership, and we are happy to be there. People will now have jobs, as it will be impactful in the community. It is a way of opening the industry in the maritime, shipping, waterways because the inland waterways are very much underused. The road will be safer, and congestion eliminated by using the inland waterways,” he said.