Ultra-large container vessels are coming to West Africa. There is pent-up demand for goods in West Africa and throughout the continent. That’s because African economies are slowly improving, creating more consumers and businesses with money to spend.
Infrastructure to handle the ULCVs has been in short supply, but after considerable investment over the past few years, the giants can now land in numerous African ports.
With the impending container charges imposed by the US on containers arriving at its shores, more carriers and shippers are looking for ways to avoid landing in the US. Increasing West African trade is a natural way to use that capacity.
MSC is a major player in this trade. Their situation is helped by the fact that MSC has partial interests in port terminals in key West African locations, as the table below from the article shows. Tema is located in Ghana, Lome in Nigeria, Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire, and Kribi in Cameroon. MSC has investments in Africa Global Logistics, which operates terminals at three of these ports; and a share in TIL, which has a terminal in Lome.
It’s good to see West Africa getting better access to the world’s goods. Trade improves the lives of both partners, exporter and importer.
Gavin van Marle 04/06/2025
https://theloadstar.com/asia-west-africa-ulcv-deployment-opens-new-markets-for-carriers
