New equipment enables 24-hour operations at Monrovia Free Port

A new port navigation system consisting of 12 off-shore buoys and two land-based range markers, will allow for night time operations at the Liberian port for the first time in three decades, APM Terminals said in a statement.    A new port navigation system installed at the Monrovia Free Port will allow for 24-hour operations at the port for the first time in three decades, terminal operator APM Terminals (APMT) said in a statement.
   The Liberian port was previously unable to serve vessels at night due to a lack of buoys, lighting and electronic navigation systems.
   The new equipment consists of 12 off-shore buoys and two land-based range markers, installed at a total cost of approximately $500,000, according to the terminal operator arm of Danish conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk.
   “The return to 24-hour accessibility to the port is another major milestone in the development of the Liberian economy as a global trading partner, and increases the ability of APM Terminals Liberia to serve the people and businesses of Liberia, and the region,” said APMT Liberia Managing Director George Adjei.
   In addition, APMT said the World Trade Organization in December formally approved Liberia as the organization’s 163rd member nation.
   “Trade policy and other reforms will help to stimulate foreign direct investment in Liberia and increase port traffic,” said APMT.
   APMT began operations at the Port of Monrovia in February 2011 under a 25-year concession agreement for the 2010 privatization of the port. The terms of the agreement stipulated a $120 million investment in port facility upgrades, of which $100 million has already been invested thus far.
   Around 350 vessels call the Port of Monrovia annually, with APM Terminals Liberia handling an estimate 95 percent of the country’s trade volumes. The facility handled about 98,000 TEUs of containerized cargo and around 800,000 metric tons of general cargo in 2015, according to APMT.