Fire outbreak hits Sifax Terminal, as company calls for calm

fire outbreak hits Sifax Terminal as company calls for calm

As industry observers express reservations

SIFAX Group has confirmed that there was a fire outbreak at its Ports & Cargo Terminal located at the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos, on Sunday, February 25, 2024

The company noted in a statement signed by its spokesman, Muyiwa Akande, that the inferno affected only the ICT section of the terminal and only key IT equipment, adding that the unfortunate incident did not result in any data loss due to the excellent backup plan the company has put in place to safeguard its data.

It assured all port users and critical stakeholders that there was no reason to panic as operations would only be affected minimally, stressing that repair work is already ongoing and operations would resume fully.

The statement reads, “This is to inform all stakeholders of Ports & Cargo Handling Services Limited, a subsidiary of SIFAX Group, that there was a fire incident at our facility located at the Tin Can Island Port, Apapa, Lagos, on Saturday, February 24, 2024.

“The inferno, which happened at our IT office, affected key IT equipment. However, we are glad to report that this unfortunate incident has not resulted in any data loss due to the excellent backup plan the company has put in place to safeguard its data.

“While minimal disruption to our services is expected, we are currently working with all relevant agencies, especially the Nigerian Customs Service and Tin Can Island Command, to restore normal port operations by Monday, February 26, 2024.

“We are using this opportunity to assure all our stakeholders, including clearing agents, consignees, and other port users, that we have activated our approved business continuity plan to keep our operations running while we work assiduously to meet the scheduled date of resuming normal port operations.”

Despite these assurances, industry observers believe that if the explanations and guarantees fit the conglomerate’s perceived familiar half-truths from the past, then freight forwarders, clearing agents, transporters, and other players in the cargo delivery value chain may have to brace up for serious business disruption.
The concerned stakeholders and observers noted that, while the organization assures that “they have activated our approved business continuity plan to keep operations running,”.
They added that, in another breath, the conglomerate talks about’minimal disruption’ expected to be fixed between when the incident happened and when it notified the general public of the same.

They queried that if it is not the official half-truth, what exactly is the group’s contingency plan amid evident threats of operational disruption?
They pointed out that Sifax, in its statement, said it was working with all relevant stakeholders, including the Area Customs Command, to avert the envisaged prolonged delay in the resumption of operation and wondered why they would not simply stick with this commonsensical truth, since the incidence of fire outbreaks is a universal occupational disaster that can happen to anyone or organization, no matter how well fortified.

They recalled that on July 21, 2023, when the same terminal (Ports and Cargo) suffered a similar incident that gutted one of its shore cranes, its spokesman, Muyiwa Akande, also allegedly sought to downplay the potentially devastating toll the fire outbreak would have had, but for the timely intervention of corporate operational players.