Sea Freight from China
FCL and LCL ocean freight from every major Chinese port – port-to-port, CIF or door-to-door DDP into Africa, customs cleared. Tell us the cargo and the destination city and we will quote the route.
FCL or LCL: which one fits your cargo
Almost every sea freight decision starts with one question: a full container, or space in someone else's? The choice changes your cost structure, your schedule and how much handling your cargo goes through - so it is worth getting right before you book.
| FCL - Full Container Load | LCL - Less than Container Load | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Your cargo occupies the whole container. It is sealed at the factory or at our warehouse and does not come open again until the destination. | Your cargo shares a container with other shippers' goods. It is consolidated at a warehouse, devanned at the destination. |
| How you are charged | One price for the container, regardless of how full it is. | Per cubic metre, or per 1,000 kg - whichever figure is higher (weight/measure). Minimums usually apply. |
| Typical cargo | Bulk orders, furniture, machinery, batteries, anything over roughly 15 cbm. | Trials, samples, spare parts, small restocks, mixed SKUs from several suppliers. |
| Handling | Least. The container is not opened in transit. | More. Cargo is loaded, unloaded, sorted and reloaded at consolidation points. |
| Timing | Once it is loaded, it sails on the next available vessel. | Slightly slower - you wait for the consolidation to close before the container sails. |
Container capacity, as a rule of thumb (usable volume, not the nominal number):
| Container | Usable volume | Typical payload | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20' GP | about 28 cbm | 17-22 tonnes | Dense cargo - tiles, machinery, liquids in drums |
| 40' GP | about 58 cbm | 20-26 tonnes | General cargo where weight is not the limit |
| 40' HQ | about 68 cbm | 20-26 tonnes | Bulky, light cargo - furniture, packaging, foam |
The crossover point is usually around 15 cbm: below that, LCL is normally cheaper; above it, a 20' container often costs less than the equivalent LCL volume and removes the extra handling. Send us the dimensions and weight and we will calculate both options so you can compare rather than guess.
Where your cargo sails from
China has eight or nine ports that matter for container export. Which one we use is not a matter of preference - it depends on where your factory is, which carrier serves the destination, and how tight the sailing schedule is that week.
| Port | Region | What it is good for |
|---|---|---|
| Shenzhen Yantian · Shekou · Chiwan | South China, Guangdong | Our closest port. Strong Africa and Middle East services out of Yantian; best choice for factories in Dongguan, Shenzhen and Huizhou. |
| Guangzhou Nansha | Pearl River Delta | The natural port for Foshan, Zhongshan and inland Guangdong. Deep-water berths, good feeder network. |
| Ningbo-Zhoushan | East China, Zhejiang | Consistently one of the world's busiest container ports. Excellent for Ningbo and Yiwu cargo and for carriers with few China calls. |
| Shanghai Yangshan | Yangtze Delta | The widest choice of sailings and carriers. Usually the safest pick when you need a specific routing or a tight cut-off. |
| Qingdao | Shandong | North China. Serves Shandong, Henan and Hebei factories, with solid direct services to Africa and South America. |
| Tianjin Xingang | North China | The port for Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. Good when northern pickup is cheaper than trucking south. |
| Xiamen | Fujian | Serves Fujian and Jiangxi; useful for footwear, stone and electronics suppliers in the south-east. |
We also collect from inland suppliers - Yiwu, Dongguan, Foshan, Quanzhou, Wenzhou - and truck the cargo to the port ourselves. If you already have a forwarder in China telling you to deliver to a specific terminal, send us the address and we will work with it.
Routes and indicative sailing times to Africa
These are typical port-to-port sailing times for containerised cargo leaving South or East China. They are indicative ranges, not commitments - the actual figure depends on the carrier, whether the service is direct or transhipped, and how the vessel is phased that month.
| Destination region | Main ports | Indicative sailing time |
|---|---|---|
| West Africa | Lagos (Apapa, Tin Can Island), Onne, Tema, Abidjan, Cotonou, Lomé, Dakar | 32-45 days |
| East Africa | Mombasa, Dar es Salaam | 22-35 days |
| Southern Africa | Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth / Coega | 25-38 days |
| Mozambique & landlocked neighbours | Maputo, Beira, Nacala | 30-42 days |
| Namibia & Botswana | Walvis Bay | 33-45 days |
Two things worth knowing before you plan around these numbers:
- Transhipment adds time. Most West African ports are reached by a feeder vessel after the main line calls at a hub such as Singapore, Port Klang or Colombo. A direct service can save a week; it can also mean waiting longer for the next sailing.
- Add the land leg. For inland destinations - Johannesburg, Harare, Lusaka, Kano, Kampala - add roughly 5 to 12 days for discharge, customs clearance and trucking, depending on the border post and the queue at the terminal.
Carriers also apply peak season surcharges and general rate increases (GRI) that change month to month. We confirm the actual schedule and the surcharge position at the time you book.
What drives your sea freight rate
Sea freight is the cheapest way to move volume, but the line item on your invoice is rarely just "freight". Here is what actually moves the number, so you can tell which quotes are comparable and which are not.
- Chargeable volume or weight. LCL is billed on the higher of cubic metres or metric tonnes. A pallet of light foam and a pallet of steel bolts can occupy the same space and cost very different amounts.
- Port pair. Shanghai to Mombasa and Foshan to Niamey are not the same journey. The further inland the final destination, the more of the cost sits in trucking and border handling rather than on the water.
- Direct or transhipped. A direct call is usually faster and often cheaper on total landed cost, even when the ocean rate looks higher.
- Container type and equipment. 20' versus 40' HQ, and whether you need a genset, a flat rack or a ventilated container.
- Season and surcharges. Peak season surcharges, GRI, port congestion fees, and low-sulphur surcharges all land on top of the base rate.
- Dangerous goods. Batteries and other Class 9 cargo carry a DG surcharge and require advance booking with the line.
- Terms of sale. FOB, CIF, DAP and DDP shift different pieces of the cost to different parties. If you are comparing our quote with someone else's, check which terms each one is on.
- Documentation and insurance. Certificates of origin, legalisation, inspection, and all-risk cargo insurance.
We quote on request - there is no rate card, because the honest answer depends on your cargo, your origin factory and your destination city. Send us those three things and we will come back with a route, an indicative transit time and a price.
Shipping batteries and dangerous goods by sea
Lithium batteries are the cargo we know best, and by sea they are handled under the IMDG Code as Class 9. That is not a formality - it decides whether your booking is accepted, which vessels will take it, and where it can be stowed on board.
- Book early. Carriers accept a limited amount of Class 9 per vessel and per stowage position, and the cut-off is well before the normal documentation cut-off.
- Packaging has to be UN-approved, with insulated terminals and the lithium battery mark on the outer package.
- Stowage and segregation are set by the line - batteries cannot simply be dropped anywhere in the hold.
- Documentation travels with the booking: UN 38.3 test summary, MSDS/SDS, DG declaration or application, UN packaging certificate, and a commercial invoice with correct HS codes.
- A DG surcharge applies and is quoted separately from the base ocean freight.
If your cargo is batteries - or anything else with a UN number - read the dedicated page for the full document checklist and the air-versus-sea trade-offs: Battery shipping from China.
Send us the battery chemistry, the UN number and the state of charge before you book. It is far cheaper to sort this out at quotation stage than at the terminal gate.
What we handle for you, end to end
We are a freight forwarder, not a load board. From the pickup at your supplier to the delivery at your warehouse, these are the pieces we take off your desk:
- Booking with the carrier - space, equipment and a sailing that actually matches your cargo-ready date
- Factory pickup and inland trucking anywhere in mainland China
- Consolidation and container stuffing, including bringing goods from several suppliers into one container and sending you photos of the loading
- Export customs declaration in China, and the export licence issues that go with it
- Dangerous goods documentation and the carrier's DG approval where it applies
- Cargo insurance arranged as agent, if you want all-risk cover
- Import customs clearance at the destination
- Duty and tax payment, and final delivery to your door
We have partner clearance agents on the ground in Nigeria and South Africa, which is what makes a genuine DDP price possible rather than a guess. For Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the wider region we work through established corridor agents.
If you would rather clear your own customs and only buy the ocean leg, that is fine too - we quote FOB, CIF, DAP or DDP, whichever matches the terms you already agreed with your supplier.