The roughly 5,350 nautical mile (9890 km) route originates in the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, running south and west through the Mediterranean, past Gibraltar and around and down the west coast of Africa to the strategic Nigerian port of Lagos.
The first sea voyage from Novorossiysk to Lagos is scheduled for May 15, with a formal launch set for mid-June.
The previously existing rate for container delivery of $8,000-9,000 will be reduced by almost half, according to the Russian trade mission.
Logistical Management
The new route will be managed by A7 African Cargo Line, a Russian freight transport specialist.
In the first stage, the route will operate two chartered 700-TEU container ships (freight capacity: 700 standard 20-foot containers).
In the future, it’s expected to extend to Senegal’s Dakar port, another major port in West Africa.
Strategic Significance
The route is expected to dramatically strengthen Russia’s economic and strategic cooperation potential with West African countries.
Nigeria is now a BRICS partner, while the neighboring Alliance of Sahel States (Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso) has sought closer ties with Russia after kicking out French military forces and rejecting Paris's monetary and economic control.
In Nigeria’s case, the new route highlights another element in the country's cautious, gradual shift away from former Western colonial masters toward new partners.
Besides the new maritime trade route, budding Russian-Nigerian ties already include growing finance, investment, energy, communications, cybersecurity and defense cooperation. Russia-Nigeria trade reached over $1.4 billion in 2024, with trade with Africa as a whole hitting $24.5 billion the same year.