The Port of Tema has been well-positioned in the West African sub-region to lift and discharge any heavy and/or delicate cargo that arrives in Ghana.

Speaking to EyeonPort shortly after discharging a milling shell -- which is a factory equipment with tonnage capacity of 156 and meant for the cement industry in the Free Zone Enclave of Ghana -- the Mechanical Manager of Tema Port, Stephen Owiah, said two harbour cranes were deployed with a combined capacity of 288 tonnes to discharge the milling shell within 30 minutes. Such an efficient level of loading and offloading heavy cargo is not common among ports in the sub-region.

He said the Mechanical and Stevedoring departments of the Tema Port have over the past few months boosted capacity significantly, and early last year lifted a power generation plant with a capacity of 205 tonnes -- which speaks volumes of the port’s capacity to lift heavy cargo.

The Managing Director of SevenLogs said shipping operators have confidence in Tema Port because of its capacity to compete with international ports.

Last year, a team of government officials led by the Trade and Energy Ministers from Niger visited Tema Port and revealed that in spite of the language barrier Niger prefers to use the Port of Tema in transporting goods to that landlocked country due to its efficiency.

The government of Niger subsequently used the port to successfully discharge about six 47 tonne electricity transformers meant for electric power generation in Niger.

Again, in 2015 the Port of Tema was used by engineers, contractors and government of Burkina Faso to discharge highly delicate water construction pipelines numbering about 24,000 and weighing 8 tonnes each -- which were brought into the Tema Port by 3 separate vessels in separate consignments and subsequently transited to Burkina Faso.

The Director of Tema Port, Jacob Adorkor, says purchasing heavy-duty cranes and equipment by the Port Authority is gradually making the Port of Tema an envy in the sub-region.

Indeed, such improved performance also led to an increase in transit trade for the year 2015, as confirmed by the Shippers Authority. However, a lot more needs to be done in order to sustain the growth in trade and even improve it.