July 17, 2026 by Udeh Onyebuchi
Lekki Port gains direct Northern Europe link, cuts transit time to 15 days
Global shipping giant, CMA CGM, has launched a new direct shipping service linking Northern Europe with Lekki Deep Seaport and other key destinations in West Africa.
The new KORA EXPRESS service, announced by the shipping company on its website yesterday, is designed to accelerate cargo movement between the two regions and strengthen Lekki Port’s connectivity to international trade routes.
Under the service, the shipping line will deploy vessels with a capacity of 4,200 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to make weekly direct calls at Lekki Port as part of a rotation linking major ports in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium with key West African destinations.
CMA CGM said the service would reduce transit times to Nigeria, Ghana and the Benin Republic to 15 days, while improving schedule reliability and providing importers and exporters with faster access to the European market.
The weekly rotation will cover Southampton, Vlissingen, Antwerp, Tanger Med, Algeciras, Tema, Lekki, Cotonou and Dakar.
The development is expected to further strengthen Lekki Deep Seaport’s position as a strategic gateway for international trade in the region.
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According to the Nigerian Ports Authority’s (NPA) 2026 Operational Performance Report, Lekki Deep Seaport has continued to record a surge in cargo traffic, leading other ports in the country with 40.6 per cent of Nigeria’s total cargo throughput.
The management of Lekki Deep Seaport had also disclosed that the port was operating at nearly 50 per cent of its trade capacity, with container throughput recording steady month-on-month growth since September 2025.
CMA CGM said the new service would further improve access to international markets through its transshipment hubs at Tanger Med in Morocco and Algeciras in Spain.
According to the company, the hubs would enable customers to connect seamlessly with its global shipping network.
As part of the restructuring of its regional network, CMA CGM also announced the repositioning of its EURAF 5 service to focus exclusively on the southern West African corridor.
Under the revised schedule, the EURAF 5 rotation will cover Tanger Med, Nouakchott, Kribi, Libreville, Pointe Noire and Luanda, providing dedicated coverage for the West Africa South Range.
“Together, these services deliver dedicated, optimised coverage across West Africa, with faster and more tailored solutions for cargo,” the company said.
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