APM Terminals and Barging Marine Solutions Ltd have signed an exclusive lease agreement until September 2031 to expand services in and around Apapa, underlining the terminal operator’s long-term commitment to developing Nigerian trade opportunities.
Announcing this in a statement on Tuesday, the terminal added that the aim of the agreement is to leverage the close collaboration between the two parties to increase capacity and to provide enhanced landside and barge connections to benefit both customers and shipping lines.
The Chief Executive Officer of APMT, Keith Svendsen, explained that with the signing of the agreement, the Nigerian market has shown solid growth throughout 2025, and “APM Terminals strongly believes in the development of the market in the years ahead. Therefore, it is important that we take the necessary steps to develop and realise the potential of the terminal, while also looking at the future potential to invest and modernise further in Lagos.”
Svendsen added that Barging Marine Solutions has been running a resilient business, “and we look forward to developing the synergies we see by entering this collaboration.”
Also speaking, the CEO of Barging Marine Solutions Ltd, Karim Said, stressed that the collaboration with APM Terminals “builds on the strong existing business and will provide enhanced logistics solutions for APM Terminals’ customers and shipping lines by leveraging BMS’s barging and terminal operations for additional capacity and reliable delivery.”
The Managing Director of APMT Nigeria, Frederik Klinke, said, “Improved barge services as well as Barging Marine Solutions’ position as market leader within inland container depots have the ability to improve both reliability and speed as well as optimise coordination across the supply chain, which will give a more seamless customer experience.”
In its terminals in Apapa, Kano and Onne, APM Terminals lifts about half of Nigeria’s containerised trade and provides direct and indirect employment to more than 10,000 Nigerian families.
A recent $115m upgrade and expansion project in the West African Container Terminal demonstrates its commitment to growth, providing safe, reliable and cost-effective customer solutions, and the company is ready to invest further in the country to develop improved multimodal options, enhanced quayside efficiencies and the right solutions to support its customers.
As part of APM Terminals, its network of more than 60 terminals connects all regions and serves all shipping lines around the globe.
Barging Marine Solutions Ltd has been operating in Nigeria since 2019, providing industry-leading barging and terminal solutions to its customers. It operates waterside terminals in Abule Oshun and Agbara and inland container depots in Abule Oshun, where it offers bonded terminal services with clearing for both Apapa and Tin Can cargo.
Its fleet of barges moves along the Lagos waterways, providing container transportation to port terminals and avoiding further congestion of Apapa roads.
The company said it is committed to providing customer-centric logistics solutions by leveraging the Lagos waterways.
Under the agreement, Barging Marine Solutions Ltd will operate services for APM Terminals, and the companies will jointly develop solutions to add value for customers.
The facilities include two waterfront and inland container terminals as well as barge services that will offer an alternative to road transportation and thereby ease pressure on roadside transport via trucking, reducing traffic congestion and logistics-related costs.
