By Samuel Akpan
Cargo throughput at Nigeria’s seaports rose 12.3% year-over-year in Q2 2026, reaching 35.74 million metric tonnes compared to 31.83 million tonnes in Q2 2025, according to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
The rebound is not import-driven alone. Outward cargo surged 22 per cent, a welcome shift for an economy trying to widen its export base beyond oil and cut import dependence.
NPA said imports dominated total volume at 56.8% (up 7.7%), while exports represented 41.9%, and transhipment contributed 488,364 metric tonnes (1.4%).
Operational activity expanded alongside volume: ocean-going ship calls grew 14.4% from 1,050 to 1,201, while gross registered tonnage surged 22.2% from 40.87 million to 49.95 million tonnes.
This disproportionate gain in tonnage indicates that larger vessels are servicing Nigerian ports—a key factor in attracting major shipping lines that prioritize scale and efficiency.
Service boat operations expanded sharply too with completed movements rose 22.3 per cent from 3,554 to 4,347, while associated tonnage surged 62.4 per cent from 1.06 million tonnes to 1.73 million tonnes.
Container volume expanded 11.3% to 602,392 TEUs, led by a 6.3% rise in import-laden boxes, which accounted for 51.5% of total traffic.
While export-laden containers slipped 3.9% and empty container traffic jumped 13.9%, transhipment cargo saw the most strategic gain—rising to 29,038 TEUs from zero in Q2 2025.
Though currently modest, this new transit cargo reinforces the NPA’s ambition to evolve Nigeria from a pure destination market into a central trade hub for West and Central Africa.
Vehicle handling also improved, rising 18.3 per cent to 44,147 units from 37,306 as officials linked the gain to stronger automobile imports and greater exchange-rate stability.
NPA Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho said the authority’s 2026 priority is a massive infrastructure overhaul backed by digital reforms and better operational efficiency.
Apapa Port, approaching 100 years old, and Tin Can Island Port, more than 50 years old, sit at the heart of that plan.
Ageing facilities are now straining under bigger ships and higher volumes.
The authority is also supporting Lekki and Badagry deep-sea ports and working to revive Eastern ports so cargo is not locked around Lagos alone.
A wider port network could ease pressure on Lagos, shorten evacuation distances for businesses outside the South-West and strengthen Nigeria’s ability to serve regional markets.
According to the NPA, digital transformation remains a central priority, anchored by the full rollout of the Port Community System alongside the National Single Window launched in Q1 2026.
Officials expect the systems to cut waiting times, lower transaction costs and speed cargo clearance for importers, exporters, shipping lines and logistics firms.
Technology-driven security is being tightened to support 24-hour operations as the NPA is also working with customs and other stakeholders to ease congestion and improve cargo evacuation.
It highlighted longstanding problems to include congestion, weak infrastructure, slow evacuation, poor road access, manual processes and high inland transport costs.
NPA noted that rival regional ports are investing heavily to win the same business.
Higher volumes without faster evacuation could worsen gridlock as more vessel calls without adequate berths and channels could overstretch existing facilities, it added.
“Transhipment will only last if shipping lines see Nigerian ports as reliable and commercially attractive.”
Dantsoho said he has set a clear target – make Nigeria a major trade nerve centre in West Africa through infrastructure renewal, digitalisation, security and stronger engagement with shipping lines.
PerSecondNews reports that sustained reform momentum could turn these Q2 gains into a lasting trajectory, shifting Nigeria’s ports from congested legacy gateways into an efficient regional trade hub.