Lomé Recently Welcomed MSC Diletta, Biggest Container Ship to Dock in West Africa, Ever
Tuesday, 29 April 2025 14:25 
(Togo First) - The port of Lomé made history last week. On April 24, the MSC Diletta—stretching 400 meters long and 61 meters wide—became the largest container ship ever to dock in Togo or anywhere on the West African coast. This is not just a big ship. It’s a big deal for Togo’s future as a regional logistics powerhouse.
The Diletta’s journey started in China, then stopped in India, Singapore, and Ghana’s Tema port before reaching Lomé. Next up: Abidjan and Kribi. Until now, only 366-meter ships worked this route. Lomé had hosted a 400-meter ship earlier in 2024, but the Diletta, with the capacity to fill nearly 15,000 trucks, takes things to a new level.
“This is the culmination of years of work, with the support of the Togolese authorities. Today, we are showing that Lomé is capable of handling the world’s largest ships with the same rigour as the port hubs of Europe and Asia,” said Gregory Krief, Managing Director of MSC Togo.
The Diletta’s arrival was a full team effort—six pilots, four tugs, and smooth operations all around. Containers offloaded at Lomé aren’t just for Togo. Most are headed for Nigeria, Gabon, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali. “Lomé is no longer a national port. It’s an integrated regional hub, connected to all the major terminals in the sub-region,” Krief said. “It is an essential link in our door-to-door network. We provide weekly connections with the main ports in the sub-region, including Tema, Cotonou, Douala, and Libreville.”
Last year, the Lomé Container Terminal (LCT)—a joint venture between TIL (MSC) and China Merchants—handled nearly 1.7 million TEUs, much of it transhipped to other countries. Thanks to deep waters and low congestion, Lomé is beating out rivals like Tema and Abidjan.
At full tilt, the terminal moves over 30 containers an hour, matching the pace of major Mediterranean ports. “Our low domestic demand is actually an advantage: it allows us to devote more space and agility to regional flows,” Krief said.
Lomé’s rise is not luck. In just 10 years, container traffic jumped from 500,000 to over 2 million TEUs, and total cargo now tops 30 million tonnes—triple what it was a decade ago. Richard Kangbeni, Minister for the maritime sector, sees the Diletta’s visit as proof of President Faure Gnassingbé’s vision. “Receiving the Diletta confirms the relevance of the vision of President Faure Gnassingbé, who has made the autonomous port of Lomé a pillar of the country’s economic and logistical development,” the official said.
Togo is betting on its geographic position to become the Sahel’s gateway, with corridors to Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali. The government is modernizing infrastructure, digitizing customs, and wooing global shipping giants.
As for MSC, its management emphasized that they “will continue to strengthen our equipment and modernise our facilities to support the growth in regional demand.” More mega-ships like the Diletta are already scheduled to stop by Lomé’s port in the coming weeks.
This article was initially published in French by Fiacre E. Kakpo
Edited in English by Jason Ange Quenum
