A new ultra-modern liquid bulk terminal (LBT) in the Port of Takoradi – Ghana’s deepest in-harbour LBT – is expected to receive its maiden liquid bulk cargo tanker vessel at the end of this month – June 2021.
This timeline is coming on the heels of a productive engagement with downstream petroleum stakeholders held on Tuesday, June 22 in Takoradi, at the behest of the Director of the Port of Takoradi, Captain Ebenezer Afedzi.
Even though the new LBT was commissioned late last year by Vice President Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, a stakeholder engagement needed to herald commencement of operation could not be held due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic with its attendant restrictions on public gatherings.
Participants at the engagement included representatives of bulk oil distribution companies (BDCs), oil marketing companies (OMCs), shipping agents, the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (financier of the LBT project), Marshall Oil & Gas Services (an IbisTek subsidiary and operators of the new LBT), the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).
Already, the NPA has conducted three successful rounds of inspection of the terminal including its distribution pipelines and has given the greenlight, paving the way for the arrival of the maiden vessel.
The final stakeholder engagement had a successful discussion on accurate metering/determination of cargo volumes, volume temperature compensation and billing, handling of pipeline displacement losses, pipeline size synchronization and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
The rest included safety/security of vessels, product contamination liability/insurance, operating permits, applicable standards for calculation of quantities, pipeline condition (emptiness/fullness) determination prior to discharge, slop tanks inspection/draining before and after discharge, among others.
The new LBT project, when operational upon the arrival of the maiden tanker vessel, will become the deepest drafted LBT along the west coast of Africa.
This feat will position the Port of Takoradi as an essential and cost-efficient logistical support for the supply of liquid bulk cargoes such as petrol, diesel, LPG, bitumen and other liquids.
Source: 3news.com
