Global shipping giant, CMA CGM, has commenced a new direct shipping service for Nigerian importers connecting Northern Europe to Lekki port and others in West Africa.

The new KORA EXPRESS service, announced by the shipping company on its website yesterday, is designed to accelerate cargo movement for importers between the two regions and strengthen the port’s connectivity to international trade routes.

The shipping line will deploy 4,200 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of Nigerian cargo vessels to make direct weekly calls at Lekki port as part of the rotation connecting major ports in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium with key West African destinations.

Lekki Deep Seaport, according to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) 2026 Operational Performance Report, has continued to experience a surge in cargo traffic, leading other ports in Nigeria as it handles 40.6 per cent of the country’s total cargo throughput.

The management of Lekki Deep Seaport had disclosed that the port operates at close to 50 per cent of its trade capacity, with steady month-on-month growth in container throughput since September 2025.

According to the shipping company, the service is expected to reduce transit times to Nigeria, Ghana and the Benin Republic to just 15 days as well as improve schedule reliability and provide Nigerian importers and exporters with direct and faster access to European markets.

The company said the weekly port rotation will include Southampton, Vlissingen, Antwerp, Tanger Med, Algeciras, Tema, Lekki, Cotonou and Dakar, placing Lekki Port among the region’s strategic gateways for international trade.

The shipping company added that the service would also improve access to international markets through its transshipment hubs at Tanger Med in Morocco and Algeciras in Spain, enabling customers to connect seamlessly with its global 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, offering direct calls at Cameroon, Gabon, Congo and Angola.

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.