Sifax Shipping Company Limited has denied the report of a fire incident affecting one of its subsidiaries, Ports & Cargo Handling Services Limited, at Tin Can Island Port, Lagos.
In a statement issued to journalists, Olumuyiwa Akande, Group Head, Corporate Communications, revealed that “At about 12:30pm on Thursday, July 20, 2023, one of our equipment, a shore crane, developed a sudden technical fault and before anything could be done to fix it, it went up in flames. There was a quick response from all stakeholders which resulted in putting out the fire as soon as possible, even though substantial damage was done to the equipment”.
“Normalcy was returned to the terminal after containing the fire and our operations resumed. The vessel at berth as at the time of the incident was not affected by the fire while containers, both those on board the vessel as well as other consignments at the terminal, were not affected also” Akande stated.
According to the Group Head, Corporate Communications, there was no loss of life, as the operator working on the affected equipment was safely rescued without any injury. Apart from that, the affected equipment as well as all other equipment and facilities at the terminal are all insured.
“As a company, we are committed to operational excellence in a safe and secure environment for the collective good of all our stakeholders – customers, agents, staff, regulators and the general public” he maintained.
The statement however urged the public to disregard any sensational reports on the incident and stay with the facts provided by SIFAX Group.
By Ajibola Adedoye