КАК ВАШ ГРУЗОВИК НА САМОМ ДЕЛЕ ДОСТАВЛЯЕТСЯ ИЗ КИТАЯ В АФРИКУ: RORO, FLAT RACK И КОНТЕЙНЕР

Ocean freight is where margins quietly disappear. Understand the three loading methods, the documents that must exist before the vessel sails, and the demurrage trap at the destination port.

The Three Ways A Vehicle Leaves China

RoRo (roll-on / roll-off): the unit is driven onto the vessel and driven off at destination. Cheapest and safest for complete, drivable trucks and tractors. Port coverage is good for West and Southern Africa, thinner elsewhere.

Flat rack / break bulk: used for oversize cargo — lowbed trailers, long machinery, anything too tall or too wide for a container. Higher handling cost, more lashing and dunnage, and you must photograph the lashing before the vessel sails.

Container: 40ft high-cube for spare parts, dismantled trailer kits and small machinery. A complete truck usually does not fit; dismantling is possible but adds labour at both ends and is rarely worth it for a single unit.

Which Ports Are Involved

Most Chinese truck and trailer exports sail from Qingdao, Tianjin, Shanghai, Lianyungang or Guangzhou. Your destination options depend on the service, not on us:

West Africa: Lagos (Apapa / Lekki), Tema, Abidjan, Dakar, Cotonou, Lomé, Freetown, Monrovia, Pointe-Noire, Matadi, Luanda

East Africa: Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Mogadishu, Port Sudan

Southern Africa: Durban, Walvis Bay, Beira, Nacala, Maputo

North Africa: Alexandria, Port Said, Casablanca, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli

Documents That Must Exist Before The Vessel Sails

Commercial invoice and packing list, with the chassis number and engine number stated.

Bill of lading — check the consignee and notify party spelling against your own records before it is issued.

Certificate of origin where your bank or customs requires it.

Certificate of Conformity (PVoC / CoC) where the destination country operates pre-shipment inspection — Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria and Egypt all run some form of it. Book the inspection before loading, not after.

Insurance certificate. Marine insurance is cheap relative to the cargo; cover is typically a small fraction of the CIF value.

How Long It Takes

Plan on one to two weeks from deposit to a confirmed booking, then roughly three to five weeks of sailing time to West Africa, two to four weeks to East and Southern Africa depending on the service and any transhipment. Add clearing and inland transport at your end.

Treat every published transit time as an estimate. Vessels omit ports, and transhipment hubs add unpredictable days.

The Demurrage Trap

The most common way African buyers lose money is not freight — it is demurrage and storage at the destination port. Free time is short, and it runs from the moment the cargo is discharged whether or not your documents are ready.

Line up your clearing agent and your documents before the vessel arrives. If a Certificate of Conformity was not done before loading, you will be paying daily storage while you fix it.

Practical Preparation On Our Side

Photograph and video each unit at loading, including the odometer and chassis plate.

Battery isolated, fuel reduced to the level the carrier requires, loose items removed from the cab.

Spare keys, tool kit and manuals travel with the unit, in a sealed bag inside the cab.

Third-party pre-shipment inspection (SGS, Bureau Veritas or Intertek) is available on request and is worth it on first orders.