SIFAX Hires Intelligence Expert To Curb Cargo Pilferage

* Records 275 TEUs drop in 2019 H1

By Kenneth Jukpor

SIFAX Group, as part of efforts to curb the brewing crisis of cargo theft and vandalization at its terminal, Ports & Cargo Handling Services Limited, has acquired the service of a top security intelligence expert even as the company has invested colossal sums in lighting as well as other security gadgets at the terminal.

The Group Managing Director, SIFAX Group, Mr Adekunle Oyinloye revealed this yesterday while speaking at the Group’s mid-year press conference in Lagos.

Oyinloye observed that in compliance to the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, the terminal was responsible for security and stressed that the Group had put sufficient measures in place to forestall such incidents.

Recall that a 40 feet container laden with four vehicles was vandalized by suspected wharf rats at the SIFAX-owned, Ports and Cargo terminal and the shipper had to be compensated by the terminal operator for lost and damaged items from the vehicles.

Speaking on the issue, Oyinloye said, “Globally, terminals are expected to be highly secured. Unfortunately, any human invention would also have some shortcomings. We had that unfortunate incident and what is important is what we did afterwards. We have a brand new Chief Security Officer (CSO) for the Group. He is a seasoned Security Intelligence guy trained in one of the best schools. In the last one month, even with the ingenuity of the criminals, they have met a brickwall as a result of the security expert. We have also improved our security apparatus and we can assure that such incident would be a thing of the past”

While announcing Sifax Group new investments, he revealed that the company had floated another subsidiary; Sky Capital and Allied Company Limited, primarily to finance its various businesses, even as he revealed that the company had a 5-Year Strategic Growth Plan which is expected to quadruple the Group’s investments.

According to the GMD, the new company carries out financial services including Bureau De Change, Finance Company Business, Assets Management Company Business, among others.

Mr. Oyinloye also disclosed that Sifax Group was developing a major Five Star Hotel which will be commissioned in Ikeja Lagos in first half of the year 2020.

Oyinloye announced that Sifax Group has increased its number of bonded terminals with a recent partnership with Mid Maritime Bonded Terminal in Apapa and another expansion at the Okota Bonded Terminal.

On its investments in a new port terminal; Ocean and Cargo Terminal in Warri Delta State, Oyinloye assured that Sifax Group would soon be receiving big ocean liners at Warri terminals.

He lamented that poor state of the port access roads coupled with the 2019 general elections affected the port terminal’s productivity in the first half of 2019. He advised that the federal government to link the Tin Can Island Port via the rail in order to ease cargo evacuation from the port.

He assured that SIFAX Group was ready to play a role in the bid to make Nigerian ports become hub in the West African region.

“It is quite a shame that some ports in the coast of West Africa are now taking shine off the Nigerian ports. If you go to Lome port now in Togo, it is a hub because it has been dredged to become a deep seaport. Nigeria had a huge population and a big economy, we should be the hub for West and Central Africa. SIFAX is willing to play any role the government deems fit to make this a reality” he said.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Ports & Cargo Handling Services Limited, Mr. John Jenkins revealed that the terminal recorded a drop in containers handled by 275 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) in the first half of 2019 when compared to 2018 figures.

Jenkins also disclosed that four new cranes acquired at the cost of 4.5 million euros each will arrive the country in the next few months.

He stated that the cranes were acquired to complement five existing ones, bringing to nine the number of such cranes acquired by the terminal.

Meanwhile, the General Manager, SIFAX Haulage and Logistics, Mr. Adewale Adetayo posited that the company would soon take delivery of 25 additional brand new trucks to be added to the 75 trucks already owned by the company for door-to-door delivery of cargoes to its clients.