WAF Shipping Focus: Week 24
- Agwe Logistics Solutions
- Jun 15
- 4 min read
The President and Chief Executive Officer of the Regional Maritime Development Bank (RMDB), Mr. Adeniran Aderogba, has announced that financing is currently being secured for a $150 million upgrade and expansion of a major shipyard in Nigeria. This investment, he said, will serve as a catalyst for the transformation of ship repair and maintenance capabilities across the West and Central African subregions, representing a bold first step in RMDB’s commitment to revitalising the region’s maritime sector. Speaking on the Bank’s operational roadmap, Mr. Aderogba said that this landmark project will position Nigeria and the broader subregion as a strategic hub for vessel servicing, reducing reliance on foreign facilities and significantly cutting turnaround times for shipowners operating in African waters.
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The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has requested all the shipping lines operating in the country to submit an updated list of their holding bays, including locations and capacity, emphasising the need to be involved in the examination of those holding bays to keep abreast of the potential operational challenges. The NPA stated this during a crucial meeting with major shipping lines and the APM Terminals, Apapa, to discuss the challenges of the delay in the evacuation of empty containers leading to yard congestion and to chart a way forward. The meeting, had in attendance major shipping lines including: Maersk Line, Hapag Lloyd, Pacific International Lines, PIL, CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping, and APM Terminals (APMT).
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The critical role of the maritime sector in the economy of a country cannot be overemphasised; it plays a significant role in enhancing trade and commerce by facilitating international trade, enabling the import and export of goods, including raw materials, manufactured goods, and energy resources. Generally, the maritime sector is a vital component of a country’s economy, providing numerous benefits and opportunities for growth and development. Since the commencement of commercial operations on the 1st of April, 2023, Lekki Freeport Terminal, the Container Terminal Operator of Nigeria’s deepest seaport, the Lekki Deep Sea Port, has been on a steady growth trajectory in terms of performance, thereby putting Nigeria on the global maritime map.
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Decades of investment in regional logistics infrastructure is reaping dividends for the West African region, a major global hub for the freight industry.Confirmation of this came in April 2025, when Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) announced that it had selected West African ports as destinations for Africa’s first service by a mega-large container vessel with a 24 000 TEU capacity. MSC Diletta and MSC Türkiye will connect key regions from China and South Korea through Southeast Asia to Ghana, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon on the Africa Express service, according to an announcement by MSC. MSC Diletta has called on Lomé, Togo and Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, while the 400-metre long MSC Türkiye has “played a crucial role in positioning the ports of Tema in Ghana and Kribi in Cameroon as a major transhipment and strategic trade hub along the West African coast”, said MSC.
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The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command, has engaged key stakeholders to enhance trade facilitation and optimise cargo movement via rail. The event, which was held at the Command, brought together representatives of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), clearing agents, and freight forwarders, among others. Controller of the Command, Comptroller Babatunde Olomu, noted that the meeting was in line with the directive of the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, to improve logistics through multimodal transport systems. “Recall that rail has been in operation for quite a while, so we want to fine-tune the process to improve our trade objectives. When we have a seamless trade process, it will benefit our stakeholders who are here today,” he said. He also lauded the commitment of the partners present at the meeting, describing their participation as a confidence booster that reinforces the shared goal of efficient cargo movement.
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Ghana is preparing to introduce continuous port operations in July as part of a strategy to streamline trade logistics and triple its export earnings by 2030. The reform will be implemented at the country’s two main ports—Tema and Takoradi—and is aimed at reducing delays and costs in the export chain. President John Dramani Mahama said during the announcement that the ambition is to make Ghanaian ports world-class logistics centres capable of supporting strong and sustainable growth in exports. The reform is part of a broader plan introduced in May to modernize port infrastructure and tackle bottlenecks that hinder exports, especially in sectors such as cocoa, pineapple, vegetables, cashew, and medicinal herbs. These sectors often suffer from administrative slowdowns, post-harvest losses, and complex export procedures.
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