Director of the Takoradi Port, Capt Ebenezer Afedzi, says at the end of November 2017, a total of 7.3 million metric tonnes of cargo passed through the Takoradi Port as against 6 million metric tonnes in 2016.

“This represents an increase of 1.3 metric tonnes and we are hoping that by December 31, 2017, it will increase to about 8.5 million tonnes,” he added.

He noted that the Takoradi Port partnered Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) to construct a 13.5 million litres capacity marine gas oil storage facility at the port to support the oil and gas industry.

The $15 million facility would supply marine gas oil to upstream vessels that would dock at the Takoradi Port in a process called bunkering.

The Port Director lauded the initiative because the country was losing revenue through illegal bunkering on the high seas.

Captain Ebenezer Afedzi disclosed this during a press soiree for journalists in the Sekondi-Takoradi.

Capt Afedzi noted that under the port’s expansion programme, the port of Takoradi partnered Ibistek, a Ghanaian private entity, to construct an off-dock container terminal with capacity of 7,500TU to improve the handling of containers at the port.

He indicated that the facility started operations in April 2017.

Capt Afedzi disclosed that a Belgian company had also been engaged to build a conveyer loading system at the terminal, which would reduce loading time from the current 10 days to about two and half days.

He also revealed that in 2017, General Electric commissioned oil field fabrication equipment in Takoradi for oil companies operating in the oilfields.

He also revealed that the port would partner Prime Meridian company to construct a 200-metre floating dock this year which would be able to accommodate vessels with length between 20- 80 meters long.

He revealed that the port of Takoradi recorded 38 percent increase in import cargo, with export cargo recording 39 percent, while trans-shipment recorded 21 percent and transit-container cargo registered 180 percent last year.

Vessel call at the port in the year under review was only one percent and can be attributed to the maritime boundary dispute between Ghana and Ivory Coast, Capt Afedzi mentioned.