The Grimaldi Group has announced plans to scale up its direct shipping service connecting Shanghai, China, to Lagos, Nigeria by increasing both the number of vessels and frequency of sailings.
General Manager, Commercials, Grimaldi Agency Nigeria Limited and PTML Terminal, Chioma Kelechi Ahanonu, who disclosed this in Lagos said the company intends to upgrade its service from a monthly sailing to twice a month, effective from the second quarter of 2025.
Ahanonu said the first vessel under its direct shipping service, Great Cotonou has already departed China and it is expected to arrive in Lagos within the next two weeks.
Her words, “With the introduction of the new G5 series of vessels that we introduced last year, we’ve been able to increase our capacity and now able to serve the China market.
“The first vessel- Great Cotonou has departed China and she will be here in the next two weeks. These vessels are multi-purpose. They can take up to 2,000 containers and up to 5,000 vehicles.
“For now, the service is once every month but we intend to increase it to twice a month, maybe from the second quarter of this year.
“We also intend to increase the number of vessels that will go into this service.”
Ahanonu, however, noted that the success of the increased frequency is dependent on the cooperation of stakeholders, including clearing agents, Customs and shippers.
She appealed to stakeholders to support the company’s effort to consistently offer the service, noting that filling the vessels with cargo is crucial to its success.
“We need the support and cooperation of every stakeholder to help us to deliver on this KPI that we have all agreed on. Please give it your best. Facilitate trade. Don’t impede it.
“This is the fastest service in the industry today. It will reach Shanghai to Lagos in 27 days. We don’t have any service that compares to this. To make sure that we can consistently offer this service, we need to fill the vessels. And we’ll fill the vessels with cargo that we can get from you. So please, I’m appealing to everyone for your supcort.
“It’s a new market for us. The experiences our customers have of this new service are very critical. That’s the only way to grow that strength. If they come in and they don’t feel good, we will not get subsequent bookings. That’s how it works,” she told the gathering of customs officers and clearing agents at the terminal,” she said.
While expressing the company’s commitment to enhancing its service, Ahanonu added that the frequent sailing will also benefit clearing agents who will have more cargo to clear, translating to increased revenue for customs.
“We want to say, that on Grimaldi’s part, we are contributing to this prosperity now by putting in this service. We are providing containers there. It’s not just a container service, it’s combined. So you can do trucks, vehicles, containers,break bulk everything that you have.
“It will mean prosperity for the clearing agents, because there will be more cargo to clear and prosperity for customs because it will mean increased revenue. So everybody will be happy. But for us to achieve that prosperity, it requires the collective hard work of all stakeholders, ” she said.