Facilities & Infrastructure

The PTML main terminal occupies approximately 230,000 square metres at the western end of the Tin Can Island Port Complex, accessible directly from the Apapa–Oshodi Expressway and from Apapa via Liverpool Road. The terminal operates its own dedicated gates, separate from common-user port access, which materially simplifies truck entry, container delivery and empty returns.

Marine infrastructure comprises two deep-water berths providing 535 metres of continuous quay: Berth 11 at 335 metres with 13.5 metres draft, and Berth 12 at 200 metres with 12.0 metres draft. The berth configuration accommodates the largest RoRo multipurpose vessels deployed in the West African trade, including the Grimaldi G5 class of 290 metres length overall — the largest Con-Ro vessels ever to call in the region. Berth 11 has been extended twice, in 2014 and 2021, and a further expansion of over 100 metres of berthing length is planned before the end of the decade to accommodate the next generation of G6 vessels.

The yard is organised into dedicated areas for containers (with 40 reefer plugs), vehicles and rolling units, and general and project cargo, supported by a 3,500 square metre covered warehouse, on-terminal offices for PTML and the resident regulatory authorities, and dedicated delivery gates.

PTML operates the largest waterfront off-dock bonded terminal facilities in Nigeria: two terminals in the Mile 2 area of Lagos covering, in aggregate, more than 250,000 square metres, with 200 metres of waterfront, three dedicated barge berths and a 3,500 square metre warehouse.

Mile 2 was originally developed to receive the rapidly growing import of vehicles into Nigeria and to relieve the chronic congestion of the Lagos port corridor, at a time when no space existed within the main port to hold them. Since its opening it has been widely appreciated by importers and the automotive trade, and it has been expanded repeatedly — most recently through a 50,000 square metre area allocated by the Lagos State Government, which extended the facility to stretch between two of the principal arteries of Lagos, the Apapa–Oshodi Expressway and the Badagry Expressway. Today Mile 2 is no longer only a vehicle terminal: it is a fully fledged bonded import terminal for containers, an export consolidation point, and a base for warehousing and value-added services, allowing customers to complete their entire port process away from port traffic.

The two terminals operate under two separate commands of the Nigeria Customs Service — the PTML Command and the Apapa Command — a configuration unique in Nigeria that gives shippers the flexibility to route cargo under whichever bill of lading and customs command they prefer.

The link between Tin Can Island and Mile 2 is operated by a dedicated fleet of high-capacity barges and tugs, able to transfer over 1,000 vehicles per day to Mile 2 and over two hundred 40-foot containers per day. PTML is the only terminal operator in Lagos offering this multimodal waterborne connection from its berths to its own bonded off-dock facility — an arrangement that has measurably relieved pressure on port access roads since 2018, including the movement of full export containers by barge.

PTML owns and operates a modern port equipment fleet of more than 100 units, maintained in-house and dimensioned to work RoRo, container, break bulk and project cargo simultaneously.

PTML is the West African hub of the Grimaldi network and is served by scheduled multipurpose Con-Ro services connecting Lagos with four continents.

Through the Grimaldi network and transhipment over PTML, Nigerian importers and exporters reach an extensive global port network with a single bill of lading. The terminal is equally open to vessels of all other operators for general cargo, break bulk and project shipments. The current vessel schedule is published and updated on this site.

Every routine interaction with PTML can be completed online. Registered agents and importers can generate cost estimates, receive and pay invoices through a secure payment platform connected to all Nigerian banks, book customs examinations, print interchange and release documents, locate vehicles and containers in real time, request refunds and lodge claims — without visiting the terminal.

Access to e-services requires one-time agent registration, completed electronically. Step-by-step guides for each service are provided on the respective pages.

PTML operates to written, published procedures. The pages in this section set out, step by step, how to enter the terminal, how to pay, how examinations are booked, and how cargo is released — including the documents required at each stage and the standard to which PTML commits. If any officer or process deviates from a published procedure, report it through the contacts on each page.