- MSC Diletta Pulled from Asia-NEUR ‘Lion’ Service to Join West Africa Route.
- Average Vessel Size on Asia-West Africa Trade Grows by 50% Since June 2022.
- MSC Strengthens West Africa Network with Deployment of Larger Vessels.
Last week, MSC reported the deployment of 23,000+ TEU ships on their Asia-West Africa (WAF) ‘Africa Express’ service. This represents a huge boost in the capacity of the service, as the largest ship currently on the route is 16,600 TEU, with an average ship size of 14,465 TEU. The new phase-in of bigger ships would raise the nominal capacity of the service by 50%, a huge injection for the route, reports Sea Intelligence.
Vessel Shifts and Unexpected Trends
The initial of the recently deployed vessels, MSC Diletta, was withdrawn from MSC’s Asia-North Europe (NEUR) ‘Lion’ service. It was subsequently replaced by a smaller 15,500 TEU vessel. This change is unexpected, considering the recent trend of bigger vessels displacing smaller vessels on the Asia-NEUR route. Indeed, since June 2022, the average ship size on the West Africa-Asia route has increased by 50%, a testament to the rising demand for big ships in the region.
Increase of Big Ships in West Africa Trade
Shipping lines have progressively sent out bigger ships to West Africa, with ships more than 16,000 TEU being the biggest sent prior to MSC’s recent phase-ins. From January 2024, 26 ships of 15,000 TEU and above have been sent on West Africa-connecting trades. 22 of them were sent by MSC on their independent services. These deployments are across four services, three of which are independent MSC services, indicating a strong build-up of MSC’s West Africa network.
Robust Growth Opportunities in West Africa
The sending of bigger ships by MSC is a testament to their expectation of further expansion in the West African market. There are a number of economic factors that indicate a bright future for Africa. The population of Africa was 1.5 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, which would represent 28% of the world’s population. Importantly, 30% of Africa’s population lives in West Africa, highlighting the importance of the region.
Enhancing Connectivity of West African Ports
In the last 18 months, 56% of West African ports have witnessed an improvement in connectivity, and this again is a reflection of the increasing relevance of the region. Sub-Saharan Africa, being the only region in Africa where the IMF makes economic growth available, is both outpacing the global economy and advanced economies in year-to-year growth. These economic forces are probably powering the heightened attention to West African trade and MSC’s strategic commitments in the region.
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Source: Sea Intelligence
