Nigeria’s first direct ship from China arrives in Lagos

The MV Great Cotonou, the first container-roll-on/roll-off (Con-Ro) vessel offering a direct service from Shanghai to Lagos, berthed at the PTML Terminal on Tuesday.

The ship, operated by global shipping giant Grimaldi Group, cuts transit time to just 27 days without the need for transshipment at intermediary ports.

With the new route, Nigerian traders can now receive not only containerised cargo but also vehicle including cars, vans, trucks, and project cargo on the same vessel.

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The Great Cotonou, a G5 class vessel, features a length of 250 meters, a beam of 38 meters, a deadweight of 45,864 tonnes, and can transport 4,700 linear meters of rolling freight, 2,500 Car Equivalent Unit (CEU) and 2,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit(TEU).

“This is the largest container-roro ship coming to Africa,” said Ascanio Russo, managing director of PTML, describing the significance of the new service.

The new route eliminates the complexities and reduces overall costs for importers and exporters who previously had to rely on indirect shipping routes with multiple stops.

“Because it’s direct shipping, lead times and the cost of transactions avoiding all the extended movements,” said Obiora Madu, director general of African Centre for Supply Chain. “A reduction of 10 days means a lot for the cost of doing business,” he said.

Andrea Grimaldi, representing the Grimaldi family, framed the development as a response to growing trade demands.

“Our goal is to create a fast and efficient trade link between Shanghai and West Africa, particularly Lagos,” he said at the event. “We are starting with Shanghai, but as demand grows, we plan to expand our coverage to other Chinese ports and beyond.”

Nigeria and China, two prominent players in their respective fields, have established strong bilateral ties over time. Trade between the two countries has grown exponentially since 2000, though Nigeria has continued to suffer a deficit. The Observatory of Economic Complexity observed that in 2023, Nigeria lost over $15.49 billion in net exports to China.

But experts believe this direct shipping route could bridge the gap and help Nigeria gain lost ground.

“Supply chains will function better,” said Madu, who sees great benefits for exports. “Nigeria’s trade with China is grossly in favour of China, so if we’re able to negotiate bilateral movements where there are return shipments through the same route to China, the situation may improve,” he said.

He is also optimistic that a reduction in cost of doing business will translate to a reduction in the prices of goods and services. “[The route] has the capacity to reduce the cost of products in the market. When the cost is brought down,sellers are likely going to bring [the price of] their products and services down,” Madu said.

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Grimaldi had earlier revealed the maritime link will facilitate shipment from China with transshipment at PTML terminal, which boasts of easy port access and a dedicated workforce, to main ports in West Africa and Brazil.

“We have the infrastructure, the expertise, the human capital, and we will offer a great service to our importers and exporters,” Russo said. “The arrival of this ship and this new service will definitely create many more opportunities for our terminal, workers, host community, and Nigeria as a whole.”

Russo also added that Grimaldi had invested over $15 million in upgrading infrastructure to accommodate the ships, including the acquisition of a mobile-harbor crane.