MSC has become the first shipping company to send its mega-ships to the African continent. The company made history in late April/early May when the service was inaugurated and two of its recently built 24,000 TEU class container ships arrived in ports in Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast and Cameroon as part of the African Express service deployment.
Since the introduction of the latest segment of ultra-large container ships, carriers such as MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Evergreen and OOCL have been using these huge vessels on routes from Asia to Europe. The ships are designed with a maximum capacity of about 24,000 TEUs per unit and with maximum dimensions to pass through the Suez Canal and call at Northern European ports.
MSC stresses that the transfer of two such vessels to serve routes to West Africa will help transform the region’s economic development. The service linking China and South Korea to West Africa, with port calls in India as well, is expected to increase trade volumes in both imports and exports. MSC points to the surge in trade between Asia and West Africa and growing customer demand. The company also points out that this service is part of its commitment to Africa’s economic development.
The expanded service was inaugurated by the MSC Diletta, which arrived in West Africa in late April. Built in China in 2021, the ship has a carrying capacity of 235,228 DWT. It is registered in Liberia and operates under a long-term lease from Chinese finance companies to MSC. Its capacity is 23,964 TEUs.
MSC Diletta called in Lomé, Togo, where MSC’s subsidiary TIL is partnering with China Merchants to operate the Lomé container terminal. The vessel also visited Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
It was followed by MSC Turkiye, also built in China and delivered to the company in 2023. It is one of the largest container ships in the world with a capacity of 24,346 TEUs. The ship is registered in Liberia and has a deadweight capacity of 281,458 DWT.
Representatives of the Port of Lomé stressed that while the port has handled other large container ships before, this is the first regular deployment of this type of vessel. Previously, the largest container ships serving routes to West Africa were 366 meters (1,200 feet) long, while the two MSC vessels are 400 meters (1,312 feet) long.
Port authorities have flagged infrastructure developments and technical challenges in handling the vessels, which are more than 30 meters longer than the earlier units.
The Lomé container terminal is the largest container port in West and sub-Saharan Africa. It is also the fifth-largest container port in all of Africa, handling some 1.7 million TEUs last year.
As Africa’s economy grows, carriers are expanding their services – for example, CMA CGM has diverted larger vessels to European routes, including its 24,000 TEU vessels. Both MSC and CMA CGM have made significant investments in recent years in acquiring terminals and logistics operations in Africa.
