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Free time at Lagos runs 3 to 7 days depending on the carrier. After that, demurrage and storage run USD 50 to 250 per container per day. The causes, the real numbers, and what to do before, before and after the vessel berths.
Free time at Lagos is 3 to 7 days, depending on the shipping line. After that, demurrage runs USD 50 to 150 a day on a 20ft container and USD 80 to 250 on a 40ft, with storage charged separately once the box sits on the apron. Fourteen days over the free period on a 40ft container costs USD 1,120 to USD 3,500 — on a shipment of cars, that can be the whole margin. Here is where the money goes and what stops it.
They get talked about as one thing, and they are billed by three different parties on three different clocks. A shipper who thinks it is one bill ends up surprised twice.
| Charge | Who bills it | What it is | When the clock stops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demurrage | the shipping line | the container staying inside the terminal beyond the free period | when the box is picked up, not when duty is paid |
| Storage | the terminal operator | the container occupying yard space on the apron | after the demurrage free period, separately negotiated |
| Detention | the shipping line | the empty container sitting outside the port in your yard | when the empty goes back to the depot |
The line that catches people is the first one. The demurrage clock runs until the container physically leaves the port gate — it does not stop when you pay duty, and it does not stop when customs issues the release order. If the money to pay duty and the truck to collect the box are not ready on the same day, the clock keeps running for both.
These are the 2026 figures we have verified across multiple carrier and terminal rate sheets and industry guidance. They move, and they are not published as a single tariff — the number in your contract is the one that bills you.
| Item | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Demurrage free time, Lagos | 3 to 7 days, depending on the carrier |
| Storage free time at the terminal | 3 to 5 days |
| Demurrage, 20ft container | USD 50 to 150 per day |
| Demurrage, 40ft container | USD 80 to 250 per day |
| Escalation after free time | usually one rate for the first five days, then rising — often doubling |
| Reported rate where cargo is held for missing papers | USD 1,500 to 3,000 per day |
| Vessel waiting at anchorage | 3 to 21 days, depending on the port and the season |
| Dwell time, discharge to gate-out | 12 to 25 days |
| Customs physical examination rate | 80% to 90% of cargo |
The instinct is to blame the port. The data says otherwise: roughly 73% of port delays come from documentation, customs procedure and approval steps — not from the physical infrastructure. That is good news, because paperwork is the part you control.
The recurring causes, in the order they show up:
Lagos is the bottleneck. Apapa and Tin Can Island between them handle most of Nigeria's containerised imports, and neither has kept pace with the volume: anchorage waiting runs from a few days to three weeks depending on the season and the vessel, yard density regularly exceeds 90%, and average dwell from discharge to gate-out runs 12 to 25 days. Apapa's road access is the tighter of the two — truck turnaround is a known problem there, which is part of why cargo sits after it could have left.
Because of that, the number to plan around is not the 3 to 7 days of free time. It is the 12 to 25 days of dwell. Build a buffer of 10 to 15 days into the schedule of every shipment, and the arithmetic of demurrage stops being a surprise.
Sometimes the box is ready, the papers are complete, and the cargo still sits. When that happens, the demurrage invoice is usually defensible in part and the right move is to raise it in writing with the carrier, referencing the terminal's own gate records. Keep the demurrage notice — it states the free period, the dates and the rate applied, and it is the document that shows exactly how the days were counted.
For a high-value shipment, a freight partner with people on the ground at Apapa is worth more than a cheaper rate. A forwarder managing your cargo from a desk is managing your demurrage remotely.
Lagos is not the only gateway, and it is not always the fastest one. Tema in Ghana and Lomé in Togo run 5 to 10 days of anchorage waiting against Lagos's 3 to 21, and both feed Lagos by barge. The cost is USD 300 to 600 per container of feeder and 3 to 5 extra days on the ground. For a container of cars where the difference in waiting is two weeks against three days of extra transit, the feeder route can finish sooner and cheaper. It is a decision worth modelling per shipment, not a rule to apply by default.
Demurrage is the charge a shipping line bills when a container stays past its free period. At Lagos in 2026, free time runs 3 to 7 days depending on the carrier, then USD 50 to 150 per day on a 20ft container and USD 80 to 250 per day on a 40ft, with the rate usually rising after the first five days. The line that counts is the carrier's, and it changes.
Three to seven days, depending on the shipping line and the contract. Some carriers give more to regular shippers with volume, and that is worth asking for before booking rather than after.
Demurrage is billed by the shipping line for the container staying inside the terminal past the free period, and it stops when the box physically leaves the port gate — not when duty is paid. Storage is billed separately by the terminal operator for yard space on the apron. Detention is charged by the shipping line for the empty container sitting outside the port in your yard.
Roughly 73% of port delays are caused by documentation, customs procedure and approval steps rather than infrastructure. The usual culprits are a Form M that was not opened before the vessel sailed, SONCAP or VehCAP missing for the specific unit, a PAAR that is not ready so duty cannot be paid, and no truck booked for gate-out.
USD 80 to 250 per day. On a 14-day overrun past the free period, USD 1,120 to USD 3,500. Where cargo is held because a certificate such as SONCAP or the PAAR is missing, reported rates reach USD 1,500 to 3,000 per day, which is more than the value of the goods.
Plan on 12 to 25 days from discharge to gate-out, plus the 3 to 7 days of free time, and allow for the examination queue — Nigeria Customs physically examines 80% to 90% of cargo. Anchorage waiting before berth adds 3 to 21 days depending on the season. Build a buffer of 10 to 15 days into every shipment.
Sometimes, and it is worth modelling per shipment. Tema and Lomé run 5 to 10 days of anchorage waiting against Lagos's 3 to 21, and both feed Lagos by barge for USD 300 to 600 per container and 3 to 5 extra days. On a slow Lagos lane, a barge or feeder route can finish sooner overall.
No. The demurrage clock runs until the container physically leaves the port gate. Paying duty and being cleared are not the same event, and the gap between them is billed.
Send us the model, quantity and the port you clear at. We will come back with the free-time terms for the shipping method the cargo will actually go on, so the demurrage number in your plan is the right one.
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