Between the first half of 2018 and the first half of 2023, the increase in container ship port calls reached 20%
The backbone of global trade is quietly, but inexorably, changing its physiognomy. The world’s major container shipping companies – Msc, Maersk, Cma Cgm – have initiated a significant reorientation of their investment strategies and their routes, identifying in Africa a market that is no longer secondary or simply marginal, but a veritable land of refuge and stable growth. This shift is not dictated by a renewed philanthropy or a sudden economic idealism, but responds to an ironclad logic of capital and risk management in an increasingly volatile geopolitical and commercial context. The need to diversify and find new traffic arteries, sheltered from the congestion and fluctuations of the traditional routes between Asia, Europe and North America, has projected the African continent to the center of a new strategic interest that deserves an analysis free from excessive emphasis.
The African continent, with a Gross Domestic Product estimated to be around 3,300 billion dollars in 2024, represents an economic and demographic mass of vast scope, whose consumption and trade dynamics are still largely unexplored by mainstream shipping flows. This figure, which alone highlights the structural potential of the area, is the foundation on which the current strategy of the shipping companies rests.
A careful reading of the data on port calls confirms this structural trend. Between the first half of 2018 and the first half of 2023, the increase in container ship port calls in Africa reached 20%, a notable increase that reflects a commercial integration of the continent into global flows much faster than is often perceived. This data is made possible both by policies aimed at facilitating intra-regional and international trade, and by substantial infrastructure investments that have elevated the operational capacity of key ports. Tanger Med in Morocco, for example, is no longer just a transhipment point in the Mediterranean, but a hub of primary importance that facilitates connectivity between the three continents. Similarly, the port of Durban in South Africa, despite its well-known operational and logistical issues, continues to play an irreplaceable role in the trade of sub-Saharan Africa.
The modernization and digitalization of these ports are obligatory steps that the transport industry is, in fact, financing and accelerating with its presence.
The most eloquent element of this transition, moreover, is represented by the redistribution of ships. In a sector that for years made gigantism on the Asia-Europe route its totem, the sea giants are now transferring part of their mega-container ships to African routes previously considered marginal. Msc, the world leader, has begun reassigning units of about 24,000 teu – ships like the Msc Diletta and the Msc Türkiye – from the crowded main corridor to the Asia-West Africa route. This move caused an immediate 28% increase in the average size of ships operating on that route.
The docking of ships of this tonnage in the ports of Lomé (Togo), Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Tema (Ghana), and Kribi (Cameroon) is not just a technical record, but a statement of intent that certifies the full operability and growing competitiveness of these African platforms. This demonstrates a solid strategy for optimizing working capital and load capacity.
The economic rationale underlying this profound choice lies in the fact that commercial volumes between Asia and Africa continue to grow robustly, offering major shipowners a market less subject to price wars and the saturation that characterizes East-West routes. At a time when the maritime industry is grappling with an oversupply resulting from record orders for new ships, finding reliable and expanding outlets like Africa becomes an essential financial survival strategy. For the continent, this influx of traffic and state-of-the-art ships presents a dual challenge: on one hand, deeper integration into global supply chains and the need to accelerate investments in port infrastructure; on the other, the risk that the concentration of bargaining power in the hands of a few oligopolistic shipowners could impose commercial conditions not always favorable to African countries. From this perspective, maritime transport becomes a prism through which to observe the complex interdependencies of contemporary globalization.
