The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has recorded a 1,085 per cent surge in export-laden containers as total cargo throughput rose to 33.52 million metric tonnes in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025.

Operational data released by the Authority yesterday showed that cargo handled during the period increased by 16.2 per cent, up from 28.84 million metric tonnes recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2024, reflecting rising trade activity across Nigeria’s ports.

Container operations were a significant contributor to the improved performance. Total container traffic climbed by 18.9 per cent to 546,931 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in Q3 2025, compared with 460,038 TEUs in Q3 2024.

Within this, import-laden containers rose by 33.1 per cent to 268,713 TEUs, from 201,839 TEUs a year earlier, while export-laden containers surged to 69,039 TEUs, from just 5,812 TEUs in the same period of 2024.

The sharp rise in export containers also led to a 21.5 per cent reduction in empty container traffic, signalling improved balance between imports and exports and stronger non-oil export activity.

Ship traffic equally recorded notable growth during the quarter. The number of vessel calls increased by 8.4 per cent to 1,074 ships, from 991 vessels in Q3 2024.

At the same time, the total Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) jumped by 18 per cent to 42.64 million, compared with 36.13 million recorded a year earlier, indicating that Nigerian ports are increasingly handling larger vessels.

A breakdown of the number of ship calls along the port locations revealed that Tin Can Port topped the chart at 22.7 per cent, followed by Apapa Port at 22.2 per cent. Onne and Lekki Ports followed with 18.9 per cent and 18.4 per cent respectively, while Calabar Port contributed the least at 2.1 per cent.

However, the analysis of ship calls by size of ship revealed that Lekki Port received the largest size ships with an average Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) of 57,244, followed by Onne Port with an average of 51,276 GRT.

Apapa and Tin Can Island Port received ships of average GRT of 35,556 and 34,400, while the average size of boats calling at Delta Ports was 18,677 tonnes.

Similarly, a breakdown of cargo throughput by port showed that Lekki Port emerged as the dominant growth driver, accounting for 46.8 per cent of total cargo handled in Q3 2025.

Onne Port contributed 17 per cent, followed by Apapa Port with 15.1 per cent and Tin Can Island Port with 10 per cent, while Calabar Port recorded the lowest share.

A further analysis along the cargo type revealed that Liquid Bulk accounted for the highest share at 53.8 per cent, followed by containerised cargo, which contributed 26.6 per cent, while Dry Bulk and Other General Cargo contributed 11.3 per cent and 8.2 per cent respectively.

Commenting on the figures, NPA Managing Director, Abubakar Dantsoho, attributed the strong performance to the Federal Government’s export-focused economic reforms and improved investor confidence, noting that the results reflect growing efficiency across all pilotage districts.

He added that ongoing port modernisation, the deployment of export processing terminals and the expansion of digital systems such as the electronic truck call-up platform have helped reduce bottlenecks, improve turnaround time and position Nigeria’s ports to play a more strategic role in regional trade.

Industry analysts say the Q3 performance underscores the increasing contribution of the maritime sector to Nigeria’s non-oil export drive, as the ports align more closely with the country’s broader economic diversification agenda.