Nigeria is home to some of the world’s most vital seaports. These seaports are responsible for supporting the country’s economy by providing routes for the export and import of goods. In this article, we will be discussing the full list of all major seaports in Nigeria and their locations.
6 Major Seaports In Nigeria And Their Locations
Seaports are important to the maritime industry in Nigeria and handle both domestic and international cargo. They are managed by the Nigerian Ports Authority, which regulates and oversees their operations. The ports are used mainly for the import and export of goods, but they also handle container traffic, bulk freight, and passenger traffic.
The 6 Major Seaports in Nigeria Include the Following:
- Lagos Port Complex, located in Lagos State
- Tin Can Island Port, located in Lagos State
- Onne Port, located in Rivers State
- Calabar Port Complex, located in Cross River State
- Delta Port Warri, located in Delta State
- Rivers Port Complex, located in Rivers State
Lagos Port Complex, Lagos State
The Lagos Port Complex is the largest and busiest port in Nigeria. The Lagos Port Complex is also referred to as Premiere Port (Apapa Quays). Its main port is located in the city of Apapa, southwest of Lagos. It is the most important port in Nigeria and handles both import and export cargo.
The Lagos Port Complex in Lagos State is the oldest port in Nigeria. It was established in 1913 and has been a major hub for international trade ever since, with many of its ports serving as the main entry points for goods and services entering Nigeria. The port complex also serves as a main destination for many of Nigeria’s export shipments.
The port complex also acts as a major hub for the country’s oil industry, with many of its ports being used for the shipment of oil and gas products. The Lagos Port Complex is home to five private terminals run by AP Moller, ENL Consortium Limited, Apapa Bulk Terminal, Greenview Development Nigeria Ltd, and Lilypond Inland Terminal. These specialized facilities feature more than ten berths for handling cereals, grains, machinery, construction materials, and perishable products such as foodstuff, minerals, fertilizers, flour, salt, sugar, and so on. On the port grounds, near the bulk terminals, there are two flour mills and a processing factory.
The container terminal at the port covers 55 hectares and has a total quay length of 1005 meters. It has a capacity of over 1,000,000 TEUs per year and 298 reefer connections. Loading and unloading activities are carried out using 13 mobile harbor cranes and 14 rubber-tired cranes. The storage area consists of three warehouses totaling 3025 m2 and an unpaved open yard for temporary goods storage.
The port, which is managed by APM Terminals, has introduced electronic procedures such as set berthing windows, real-time transaction visibility, performance reviews, technical assistance, real-time invoicing, and container tracking.
The Lagos Port Complex plays a vital role in Nigeria’s economy and contributes heavily to the country’s exports. It also provides employment opportunities for many Nigerians, allowing them to work directly or indirectly on its numerous projects.
Tin Can Island Port, Lagos State
When it comes to seaports in Nigeria, Tin Can Island Port in Lagos State is one that is particularly well-known. It’s the second-largest port in the country and serves as an important gateway for both imports and exports.
The port was built during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon in 1975, when economic activity, particularly foreign trade, surged dramatically as a result of Nigeria’s oil boom after the civil war ended and rehabilitation began. Because increased import and export traffic caused congestion at the Lagos port, another facility was built on Tin Can Island to divert extra goods.
After the building of the three main quays, port operations began in 1976. It could handle 9 vessels at the same time and occupied around 70 hectares in 1977. Tin Can Island port now covers 79 hectares of land and provides bunkering and ship maintenance services for boats weighing no more than 35,000 DWT. Freshwater is accessible at all berths via underground wells drilled to a depth of 250 meters.
The Tin Can Island Port features multiple terminals, functioning as a hub for international and domestic shipping. The Tin Can Island Port Complex was formed in 2006 by the combination of the former RORO port and Tin Can Island ports. The new container terminal added to its capacity.
Tin Can Island port accommodates a variety of cargo categories, including liquid bulk, dry cargo, containerized goods, RORO, and breakbulk, on its 12 berths spanning 1358 meters, with an alongside depth ranging from 7 to 11 meters, and capable of handling ships up to 260 meters in length. The Kiri Kiri lighter port has two berths spanning 700 meters and a sea depth of 4.5 meters.
The terminal is 60 hectares in size, with a 25-hectare container yard. The complete berthing line is 770 meters long, with a 13-meter alongside depth. It has a yearly storage capacity of roughly 20,000 TEUs, and the terminal was built to accommodate 650,000 TEUs per year.
Port activities are facilitated by fully operating port equipment. Tin Can Container Terminal is equipped with eight mobile cranes, fifteen rubber-tired gantries, fourteen reach stackers, six empty handlers, four forklifts, and 45-yard trailers. There are 250 reefer connections at the facility, and it also provides container stuffing and de-stuffing services.
Clearly, Tin Can Island Port has a long and impressive history; its facilities have come a long way over the years to support global trade growth beyond just Nigeria’s borders.
Onne Port, Rivers State
Onne port is located on the River Bonny, near the creek of Ogu. It was formed as a free port zone to service West Africa’s oil and gas industry. The rebuilt port, which includes a Federal Ocean Terminal and a Federal Lighter Terminal, can accommodate the latest generation of ocean-going boats. The former has four wharves, but the latter has eleven slots. Bulk freight, containers, raw materials, steel, fertilizers, coal, and finished products are all handled at these specialized facilities. In 2017, the port handled 27,580,642 million tonnes of cargo and can accommodate 90,000 DWT boats.
Private enterprises run three terminals at Onne Port. For receiving container ships and ordinary cargo vessels, the Brawal terminal has a 370 m long linear quay with a depth of 9.5 m. An oil servicing base of 9400 m2 is utilized. The warehousing area at the terminal is 600 m2. The INTELS terminal is Africa’s largest free-trade zone for oil and gas. The deepwater facility has a channel draft of 15 meters and a warehouse size of 160,680 square meters for storing containers and breakbulk. The largest container ships may dock at the West Africa Container Terminal. It contains a 25-hectare storage yard and a 570-metre dock with a draft of 12 meters.
Onne Port is connected to other major ports around the world through its direct access to Apapa/TinCan Island/Flag of Lagos State ports through the Escravos River. This makes it convenient for ships to move in and out without having to dock at multiple ports. It’s an important gateway to activities related to oil production and local marine traffic in Rivers State.
Calabar Port Complex
Calabar Port is situated in Cross River State; it is one of the major seaports in Nigeria. This port was completed in 1979 and has a total water depth of 11.5m. It was primarily designed to boost the socio-economic development of the region by providing services such as vessel berthing, cargo handling and storage, warehousing facilities, and maritime services.
The Calabar port was developed, modernized, and expanded under the 3rd National Development Plan of 1975-1980 in order to update the port capacity to meet the ever-increasing demand of our economy. The new port complex opened on June 9, 1979, 45 nautical miles (83 kilometers) upstream of Fairway Buoy.
It now consists of the Old Port, New Port, and Dockyard and has control over Crude Oil Terminals at Antan, Odudu, Yoho, and QuaIboe, as well as other jetties at NIWA, McIver, NNPC, ALSCON, Dozzy, and Northwest. Calabar Port’s three terminals are managed by world-class terminal operators: ECM Terminal Ltd, INTELS Nigeria Ltd, and Shoreline Logistics Nigeria Limited.
Calabar Port has served Nigeria’s Northern states since colonial times, processing containers, general freight, bagged cement, grains, and seafood. The ancient port has two standard berths covering 450 meters that can accommodate breakbulk vessels. It also includes a dockyard and four crude oil terminals, which are located in Anan, Odudu, Yoho, and Qualboe.
It has a stacking area of 90,000 m and more than 20 reefer stations. Bagged cargo is housed in a 28,000-square-meter storage yard, while containers are held in a 36,000-square-meter stacking facility. The port is home to a milling facility as well as the La Farge cement plant.
Overall, this port serves as an essential hub connecting traders from different parts of Nigeria as well as providing coastal access to Cameroon’s seaports.
Delta Port, Warri Delta State
The Delta Ports are a quartet of seaports located in the Niger Delta coastline in the Delta State port cities of Warri, Sapele, Koko, and Burutu, in descending order of size. The ports are part of Nigeria’s second generation of ports, following the Lagos Port Complex and the Port Harcourt Port. They were established as national emergencies to handle the excess post-war reconstruction freight that the Lagos Port could not handle in the aftermath of Nigeria’s civil war, which lasted from 1967 to 1970. Prior to the war, Holts Transport, a British colonial shipping concern, owned and controlled the Old Warri Port, while the United African Company of Nigeria (UACN) owned and maintained the Burutu Port. In the 1970s, all four ports were renovated to national port standards under the direction and control of the Nigerian Ports Authority.
Over the years, Delta Port has become an important hub for trade activities, providing access to major cities such as Lagos, Benin City, and Asaba. It is also a strategic location for vessels arriving from or traveling to countries such as Benin Republic, Ghana, Togo, and Cameroon.
The port provides berthing and shelter for all types of vessels, including oil tankers, general cargo liners, tugs, and fishing vessels. With a total quay length of 1 km and modern infrastructure like stevadoreside stores and warehouses, it makes doing business easy in the region.
In addition to its trading activities, Delta Port also boosts ancillary services such as bunkering services for vessels that require fuel or lubricants during their stay at the port. Thanks to its efficient operations, Delta Port contributes significantly to Nigeria’s economy.
Rivers Port Complex, Rivers State
The Rivers Port Complex in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, is another big-name seaport in Nigeria’s maritime landscape. It dates back to 1913, when the Royal African Company started an export business center. This port is central to the Nigerian oil industry and serves as a base for crew and supply boats for the oil industry. Ships.
The Port is located in the Niger Delta along the Bonny River. It began modestly, expanding from one terminal for coal export to four berths to handle an import/export cargo blend. The Port, with a quay length of 1,259 meters, can generally accommodate eight modern marine vessels loading and unloading at the same time. The Port also has 16 mass oil storage tanks with a total capacity of 3,048 tons.
The structure is supported by a conveyor belt and a pier, as well as seven stacking spaces totaling 27,407.15 square meters and four (4) Arcon shelters totaling 12,486.15 square meters.
The Rivers Port is a multipurpose port that acts as the ‘Mother Port’ to a few jetties that surround her, like annexes, providing pilotage and towage services as well as servicing many markets, including Dry, Liquid, and General cargo exchanges.
It is worth noting that the Port was built on purpose in one of the world’s greatest unrefined petroleum production areas and that this beneficial location has led to the tanker market being visible at the Federal Ocean Terminal via the Bonny Fairway Buoy.
Conclusion
All in all, Nigeria’s seaports offer a plethora of possibilities for businesses and people looking to travel or export goods. From the world-class port of Lagos to the Delta seaport, Nigeria is ready to take its place as an important player in international trade.
While each port has its own unique features, what they all have in common is that they are essential for the country’s economic growth. With a better understanding of the full list of major seaports in Nigeria, travelers, and business owners can make informed decisions based on their needs and port locations.
If you’re looking for reliable transportation for your goods and services, Nigeria’s seaports will be your first and best choice.