The Great Abidjan has set a new operational record at the Port of Tema following a landmark call on Sunday, marking a significant milestone for Grimaldi Group’s Deep Sea East Asia–South Africa–West Africa service. During the call, the vessel discharged 3,100 lane metres of rolling freight, 1,100 light vehicles, 350 TEUs and 120 lane metres of project cargo carried on Mafi trailers, underlining the service’s growing capacity to support high-volume trade flows between Asia and Africa.
Operating on a fortnightly schedule, the service provides direct transit times of 30 days from Taicang and Ningbo to Lagos and 32 days to Tema. Cargo from Durban reaches Lagos in eight days and Tema in 10 days, offering shippers efficient links between Southern, Western and Eastern trade corridors.
The network connects major Chinese industrial and roll-on/roll-off manufacturing hubs with South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana, while the PTML hub in Nigeria extends its reach across West Africa, serving ports from Casablanca to Luanda. Grimaldi Group said it deploys its latest-generation G5-class vessels on the route, combining increased cargo capacity with enhanced environmental performance.
According to the company, the vessels’ advanced design can reduce carbon dioxide emissions per tonne of cargo transported by up to 43%.