With the COVID pandemic behind and in what will be a first visit outside the Fareast & Southeast Asia regions, a delegation from the Pacific International Lines (PIL) have visited Meridian Port Services Ltd (MPS Terminal 3 in Tema Port). The visit afforded the delegation time to hold key business discussions with the MPS Management Team and to gain insight into the container terminal’s status and operations within the West African Region.

The delegation was which was led by the Executive Chairman of the PIL included the resident Managing Directors (in Ghana and the WA Region) along with some key leadership team members in charge of trade within Africa.

Announcing the purpose of the visit, the Executive Chairman, Mr. Siong Seng Teo said it was amongst other things to have a look at the MPS Terminal facility which he visited in October 2017 during the construction phase. He congratulated the CEO of MPS for the company’s success to bring this terminal to fruition and expressed gratitude to MPS for support during the organisation’s restructuring process. Mr. Teo articulated that “One of the key agenda matters for our visit is to look for a hub for PIL in West Africa and to expand our feeder services, and we are preparing to team up with a serious terminal operator in West Africa to develop trade and to benefit the importer and exporter. Hence, with MPS’ terminal’s level of gearing, capacity, efficiency, and management system we believe that it resonates with our interests.”

The Chief Executive Officer of MPS, Mr. Mohamed Samara in a presentation provided details of the company’s history, investment, and growth in Ghana. He also outlined some upcoming projects by MPS to increase the port capacity and improve efficiency.

Dwelling on the impact of MPS activities in the maritime and shipping environment, Mr. Samara said.

“At MPS, our focus is on capitalising on the strengths presented by the terminal’s location and capabilities to provide the much-needed services for customers. Our shareholders from the onset have always made available the essential investment to propel us forward. Although there has been some decline in the market from the 3^rd quarter this year, we are hopeful that it will eventually pick up’’

He added that ultimately, MPS is keen on forging a long term mutually beneficial partnership with PIL aligned to the interest of providing excellent services.

The Chief Operations Officer of MPS, Mr Curtiss Dakpogan on his part admitted that MPS was committed to increasing its efficiency through continuous improvement measures.

“We are currently working on reducing the vessel idle time going into the future. We do this by working with the shipping lines such as PIL and the relevant stakeholders to ensure vessels are worked on as soon as they berth and leave as soon as operations are completed.” To expedite this, MPS has invested into the construction of a marine building to house officers to optimise the entire operations process.

Mr Gregory Teo, the Deputy General Manager in charge of African Trade expressed satisfaction with MPS overall operations.” For us at PIL, the aim is to continue to give our customers the service predictability and so the company is ready to invest in what will give this value to customers. With the establishment of a hub in Tema, it will bring with it inbound volumes which is good for the Ghanaian economy.”

PIL’s Tagline “Driving Connectivity” which summarises PIL’s mission to build connections between businesses, the markets they serve, bridge the gaps across oceans through reliable, efficient, and innovative service and to develop stronger connections with its customers echoes with MPS tagline of “We Connect You Thrive” aimed at delivering world class maritime efficiency to become the first port of call in Africa and a hub for the world for international shipping.