Dublin Port Company welcomes the recent announcement by RMR Shipping to increase the frequency of its service to West Africa from monthly to fortnightly with effect from the start of July. This service provides a direct link with Nigeria and Ghana with calls to Lagos and Takoradi respectively. The service commenced in 2009 with one ship. Now, with increased demand for the service, two Ro-Ro ferry sister ships will now be deployed on the route the MV Celestine and MV Celandine each with a capacity on board for 157 trailers. Transit time between Dublin and Ghana is 18 days.
Commenting on the development, Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive Dublin Port Company said: “We are delighted with this development. Anything which increases the link between Ireland and emerging economies beyond Europe has got to be good for exports. The service to Takoradi complements our involvement with Irish Aid from 2008 to 2010 in delivering an international training programme for ports in emerging countries including Ghana. The TrainForTrade programme was delivered with UNCTAD and we are hopeful of being able to announce a follow-up to the first programme in the coming months. I wish RMR Shipping every success with this venture and I hope that their initiative will help to grow international trade between Ireland and West Africa”.
Welcoming the announcement, John Whelan, Chief Executive Irish Exporters Association, said: “We are delighted to see the expansion of RMR service to Nigeria, which is the second largest export market for Irish goods into Africa. Last year exports to Nigeria exceeded €200million and are expected to grow again this year, aided by the direct sea freight link provided by RMR Shipping. The new service underpins Dublin Port Company’s commitment to continuous investment in port facilities and support to meet the changing international business demands and offering importers and exporters competitive and reliable routes to market”
Date Published: Tuesday 28. of June 2011