Blue Economy
Hapag-Lloyd Posts Q1 Loss as Hormuz Blockade, Bad Weather Bite Global Shipping
Hapag-Lloyd Posts Q1 Loss as Hormuz Blockade, Bad Weather Bite Global Shipping
By Emetena Ikuku | Waterways News Correspondent | May 14, 2026
Global container shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd has recorded a bruising first quarter loss for 2026, as the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and severe weather across major trade corridors hammered freight rates and disrupted supply chains worldwide — developments that carry direct implications for Nigerian importers and the flow of cargo through West African ports.
The Hamburg-based carrier, one of the world’s largest liner shipping companies with a fleet of 302 container vessels and a total capacity of 2.5 million TEU, posted a Group profit of negative USD 256 million (approximately EUR 219 million) for the January-to-March 2026 period. This marks a dramatic reversal from the USD 446 million profit recorded in the same quarter last year.
Group revenues fell by nearly 17 percent to EUR 4.2 billion, while Group EBIT — earnings before interest and taxes — slumped to negative USD 157 million, compared to a positive USD 463 million in Q1 2025.
Hormuz Blockade at the Heart of the Crisis
Central to the shipping line’s poor performance is the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint connecting the Persian Gulf to global sea lanes. The strait has been virtually closed to commercial traffic since the United States and Israel began military operations against Iran in February 2026. Hundreds of commercial vessels and an estimated 20,000 seafarers have been unable to transit the waterway, forcing carriers to reroute ships on lengthy and costly detours.
Compounding the Hormuz crisis, the Red Sea remains a no-go zone for many carriers due to continued Houthi rebel attacks — a situation that has lingered since late 2023 and pushed shipping lines onto longer Cape of Good Hope routes, adding days and significant operating costs to voyages between Asia and Europe.
For Nigeria and the broader West African sub-region, these disruptions translate to longer transit times, tighter container availability, and sustained pressure on the cost of imported goods — from manufactured products to raw materials and food commodities.
Freight Rates Under Pressure
Average freight rates in the Liner Shipping segment fell to USD 1,330 per TEU in Q1 2026, down from USD 1,471 per TEU in the same period of 2025. Despite this, transport volumes held relatively steady at 3.2 million TEU — indicating that demand remains present, but shippers are unwilling or unable to absorb higher rates in an already squeezed environment.
Liner Shipping segment revenues declined to USD 4.8 billion (EUR 4.1 billion) as a result.
Terminal Segment Offers a Bright Spot
Not all the news was gloomy. The Terminal and Infrastructure segment posted modest growth, with revenues rising to USD 168 million (EUR 144 million) from USD 104 million a year earlier. The improvement was driven by the full consolidation of J M Baxi’s container business and volume growth in Latin America and India. Segment EBITDA rose to USD 47 million, and EBIT reached USD 18 million — a rare area of resilience within an otherwise difficult quarter.
CEO Vows to Stay the Course
Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen described the quarter as deeply unsatisfactory but signalled confidence in the company’s long-term strategy.
“The first quarter of 2026 was unsatisfactory for us, with weather-related supply chain disruptions and pressure on freight rates leading to significantly lower results. At the same time, our Gemini network has proven its resilience even under difficult conditions, helping us maintain a reliable service offering for our customers,” Habben Jansen said.
He added that the company remains committed to its Strategy 2030 roadmap and is pressing ahead with a planned merger agreement with Israeli carrier ZIM, which is seen as a key move to strengthen Hapag-Lloyd’s competitive position in an increasingly consolidating global market.
Full-Year Outlook Retained, But Uncertainty Looms
Despite the difficult start to the year, Hapag-Lloyd maintained its full-year 2026 earnings guidance. The company expects Group EBITDA to land between USD 1.1 billion and USD 3.1 billion, and Group EBIT to range between a loss of USD 1.5 billion and a profit of USD 0.5 billion.
However, the company was candid that the forecast carries substantial uncertainty, citing freight rate volatility and the unresolved conflict in the Middle East as the primary risks. The possibility of a full-year operating loss has not been ruled out.
Fellow carrier Maersk — Hapag-Lloyd’s partner under the Gemini Cooperation — similarly reported a collapse in Q1 profits, underlining that the challenges are industry-wide and not isolated to any single player.
Nigeria Watch: What This Means for Nigerian Shippers
For cargo owners, freight forwarders, and port operators in Nigeria, the Q1 results from a bellwether like Hapag-Lloyd serve as a barometer for what lies ahead. Volatile freight rates and rerouted vessels mean unpredictable schedules and elevated logistics costs — challenges that port stakeholders at Apapa, Tin Can Island, and Onne are likely to feel through the second quarter of the year.
With global container lines under pressure and capacity management tightening, Nigerian importers are advised to engage freight partners early, lock in forward bookings where possible, and factor extended transit times into supply chain planning for the months ahead.
Waterways News tracks developments in global and domestic maritime trade. For port updates, shipping intelligence, and maritime policy news, visit waterwaysnews.ng.
Oyetola Woos Turkish Investors for Fisheries Sector, Vows to Protect Artisanal Fishers
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, has thrown Nigeria’s fisheries sector open to Turkish investment, insisting that any fresh capital coming into the industry must strengthen and not sideline the millions of Nigerians who depend on artisanal fishing for a living.
Oyetola made the pledge while receiving a delegation from Turkish fisheries and aquaculture firm CRD Impex, led by the company’s General Manager for Fisheries, Cem Tarhan, at his Abuja office. He told the investors the Federal Government was ready to create an investment-friendly climate for credible local and foreign players willing to bring capital, technology and modern value-chain solutions to the sector, on condition that such investment remains inclusive.
“We welcome investors who can bring capital, technology, expertise and modern value-chain solutions to the sector. However, investment must be inclusive and sustainable. It must complement and empower our artisanal fish producers, not undermine their livelihoods,” the Minister said
He listed inadequate infrastructure, poor access to modern fishing technology, weak cold-chain systems, limited processing and storage capacity, and gaps in market access as the major constraints holding back the sector, framing each as an opening for targeted investment rather than a dead end.
The Turkish team, which included CRD Impex founder Hanefi Cardak and Tetra Underwater Services founder Ersun Buyukgoze, toured key fisheries and aquaculture points around the country to size up the terrain first-hand. Stops included the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal in Lagos, the Ozumba Mbadiwe Fish Market in Lekki, and the Esuk Nsidung Beach Market, a major waterfront seafood hub in Calabar, Cross River State.
The Ministry described the visit as part of a broader push to attract serious investment into Nigeria’s blue economy while keeping the welfare of artisanal fishers central to that growth.
Nigeria Watch
The Turkish courtesy call lands squarely in the pattern this desk has tracked all year: big-ticket investment pledges for Nigeria’s waterways, paired with familiar assurances that the small operator won’t be crowded out. The test, as always, is what happens after the photo-op.
Nigeria’s artisanal fishing communities occupy the same economic space as the informal boat operators represented by WABOTAN and ATBOWATON, river- and creek-dependent Nigerians whose livelihoods rise or fall on decisions made far from the waterfront. The infrastructure gaps Oyetola cited which include, weak cold-chain systems, poor storage and limited market access, all mirror the exact complaints this desk has documented from inland waterway operators for years but modernisation announced from Abuja rarely reache the jetties.
Turkish capital chasing Nigerian fisheries and aquaculture is a genuinely new thread, distinct from the Strait of Hormuz shipping story or the CVFF disbursement saga this desk has followed closely. But the underlying question is the same one that has defined Oyetola’s tenure at the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy: will “inclusive investment” translate into contracts, cooperative partnerships and cold-chain infrastructure that artisanal operators can actually use or will it, like so many blue-economy pledges before it, stall at the courtesy-visit stage?
Waterways News will be watching for the first concrete CRD Impex commitment — site, timeline, or local partnership — as the marker of whether this one is different.
NPERA, NPA Open Technical Talks on Handover of Inland Dry Port Functions
By Ighoyota Onaibre | Waterways News
The Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have begun formal engagement on transferring inland dry port oversight to NPERA, marking the start of what both agencies describe as a critical phase in operationalising Nigeria’s new port regulatory framework.
At a management-level meeting between the two agencies, officials focused on the technical groundwork for the handover, chiefly how to draw clear lines of responsibility and avoid duplication among the government bodies with a stake in inland dry port administration.
NPERA’s Director-General/CEO, Dr Akutah Pius, framed the transition as flowing directly from the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, whom he credited with steering the process toward the sector’s broader development. Akutah was emphatic that NPERA could not carry out the transfer alone, and said the buy-in of every relevant stakeholder agency would be needed to see it through.
He indicated that the Ministry would stay central to coordinating the process even as specific mandates move to the agencies best placed to execute them. Akutah also pointed to the Minister’s earlier interventions during the NPERA Bill’s passage through the National Assembly, which he said had defused inter-agency friction and set the stage for the cooperation now underway.
Describing the purpose of the meeting, Akutah said it was meant to formally kick off the transfer of inland dry port responsibilities to NPERA in fulfilment of its statutory role as economic regulator of the ports sector. He singled out Section 51 of the NPERA Act as a provision that now needs to be put into practical effect to keep the transition orderly and ensure stakeholder roles are properly aligned.
To manage the process going forward, the NPERA boss proposed setting up a joint committee drawing in NPERA, NPA, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy. He argued that inland dry ports matter well beyond the coastline. They extend maritime sector benefits into Nigeria’s hinterland and reinforce the country’s trade and logistics chain.
Responding on behalf of NPA, Managing Director Dr Abubakar Dantsoho welcomed the move and pledged his agency’s full operational and technical backing throughout the transition. He said the process had started on the right footing, and that NPA would furnish updated data on the current state of inland dry ports to inform further discussions, expressing confidence that continued engagement would help the agencies meet their shared objectives.
NPA’s Executive Director, Engr. Lekan Badmus, also commended NPERA for setting the collaboration in motion, calling the meeting a solid first step toward a smooth integration. He noted the two agencies have now moved into the technical phase of the exercise, with close attention being paid to eliminating overlapping functions.
Closing the meeting, Akutah said the proposed joint committee would reconvene with the Minister to seek further guidance and agree on next steps to keep the transition on track.
Nigeria Watch
This meeting is the first visible test of whether the NPERA Act’s promise of a rationalised port regulatory architecture can survive contact with Nigeria’s crowded agency landscape. Section 51’s transfer of inland dry port functions to NPERA looks straightforward on paper; in practice, it touches NPA’s traditional port administration turf, NIWA’s inland waterways mandate, and the Ministry’s coordinating role all at once, precisely the kind of overlapping jurisdiction that has bedevilled reform efforts elsewhere in the sector, most visibly in the long-running NIWA-LASWA tussle that only the Supreme Court could settle.
The proposed joint committee of NPERA, NPA, NIWA, and the Ministry, is a sensible mechanism, but Waterways News readers who have followed the CVFF disbursement saga know that Nigerian maritime governance has no shortage of well-designed committees whose outputs never quite reach implementation. What will matter is whether Akutah’s “technical phase” produces a binding timeline, not another round of goodwill statements.
For inland dry port operators and the hinterland trade corridors that depend on them, the stakes are practical: unclear jurisdiction between NPA and NPERA has historically meant slower cargo evacuation, duplicated levies, and uncertainty for freight forwarders planning routes away from the congested Lagos ports. If this transition is handled well, it strengthens the case for dry ports as genuine pressure valves for Apapa and Tin Can. If it stalls in inter-agency turf negotiation, it becomes one more entry in the gap between policy pronouncement and delivery that this desk continues to track.
Worth watching: whether Minister Oyetola’s office sets an explicit deadline when the committee reconvenes, and whether NIWA, whose inland waterways mandate intersects with dry port hinterland connectivity, gets more than a seat at the table.
Two More Tankers Struck in Strait of Hormuz as Attack Count Hits Five in a Week
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
Two more tankers have been hit while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, leaving two seafarers with minor injuries and pushing the number of reported attacks or security incidents against commercial vessels in the waterway to at least five since 16 September.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said an inbound tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile on Monday. Two crew members sustained minor injuries, but the vessel stayed under its own power and continued to its next port, with no environmental impact reported.
Hours later, UKMTO issued a second alert after an outbound LPG tanker reported being struck by debris from unknown projectiles. All crew were reported safe and the vessel also continued its voyage. Authorities are investigating both incidents, and UKMTO has not attributed either attack to a specific actor.
The two strikes build on a Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) advisory covering three earlier attacks between 16 and 18 September, one of which saw a tanker’s hull breached by a projectile, sparking a fire. JMIC continues to rate the threat level in the strait as “severe,” citing a high likelihood of deliberate hostile action and pointing to a pattern of harassment by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — drone overflights, surveillance of merchant vessels and VHF hailing, alongside the direct attacks.
Traffic through the chokepoint remains sharply depressed. Only 17 commodity vessels were visibly transiting over the weekend, down from 37 the week before and against a pre-war daily average of roughly 125. That figure excludes vessels sailing with their AIS transponders switched off, and JMIC notes a persistent gap between visible and actual traffic.
Nigeria Watch
For Nigerian maritime stakeholders, the Hormuz crisis is no longer a distant Gulf story. It is a cost line. Every fresh escalation feeds directly into the war-risk insurance premiums and freight rates that Nigerian importers, refiners and shipping agents ultimately absorb, since global tanker and container capacity pulled off the Hormuz route tightens supply elsewhere and pushes rates up across long-haul trades, including those serving West African ports.
The renewed attacks also sharpen the stakes around Nigeria’s push for a stronger voice at the IMO Council table and its broader blue-economy diplomacy under Minister Adegboyega Oyetola. A sustained Gulf disruption is exactly the kind of systemic shock that tests whether Nigeria’s seat translates into influence over how global shipping risk, insurance and rerouting decisions are made, rather than Nigeria simply absorbing the downstream cost.
Locally, the episode is a reminder of the layered nature of “maritime security” as a policy word: the Deep Blue Project and Gulf of Guinea security architecture address piracy and armed robbery close to home, but Nigeria’s ports and shippers remain exposed to security failures thousands of kilometres away in the Gulf.
Waterways News will continue tracking how the Hormuz situation feeds into freight cost pressure at Nigerian ports and NIMASA’s public messaging on the issue.
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