Of all the costs in an import, port storage and demurrage are the ones people dread most, because they seem to appear out of nowhere and grow by the day. They are real, and they can add up. They are also predictable, they start for a handful of known reasons, and the way we handle containers is built to keep them from starting at all.
- When they start
- After the free period ends
- Who charges
- The port and the shipping line
- Usual cause
- Paperwork or release delays
- Our answer
- Container out to our site
What the charges are
Ports are built to move cars and containers through, not to keep them. Once a container is discharged from the ship, there is a limited free period. After that, two different parties can start charging.
Port storage is the port or terminal charging for the space the container or car takes up on its quay. Demurrage is the shipping line charging because its container is being kept beyond the free time it allowed. The container belongs to the line, and it wants it back in use.
Both are usually charged per day, and the rates and free periods vary from port to port and line to line. That is why we do not quote a figure here. What matters more is understanding what starts the clock running past the free period.
Why they build up
A car only leaves the port when two separate gates have opened. The shipping line has to release it, which depends on the bill of lading, and HMRC has to clear it, which is the customs entry and the import tax. Either one on its own is not enough.
Nearly every storage bill we hear about traces back to one of these:
- A purchase invoice that does not match the value declared
- A VIN or chassis number that differs between the documents and the car
- Missing proof of ownership, or an export document that has not arrived
- An original bill of lading still in the post when the ship docks
- A Transfer of Residence claim made without HMRC approval in place
- Duty or VAT not paid when the entry is made
- A container left waiting in a port warehouse queue to be unloaded
Each one is small. The trouble is that the charges keep running while it is sorted, and a transposed digit in a chassis number can hold a car while the paperwork is corrected. Our guide to customs delays goes through the paperwork causes in more detail.
How we keep containers out of the queue
The last cause on that list is the one most importers have no say over. At a busy port, a container waiting to be unpacked by a port warehouse waits its turn, and the free period does not wait with it.
We do it differently. When the ship docks, the container is moved from the ship to the quayside, and we pay the port charges that go with that. Once the line and customs have both said yes, the container is hauled, still sealed, to our private facility in Castle Donington, which is well placed for container haulage by road and rail.
That gives us direct control of the container from the port, and it shortens the time it spends there. Our own team unloads it at our site, so there is no queue at a port warehouse and no reason to rush your car out of the box.
The best defence is early paperwork. Our facility takes the unloading queue out of the picture. The customs and release side still depends on the documents, so we check them before the car sails, while there is still time to put anything right.
Container and RoRo are not the same here
How exposed you are depends partly on the shipping method, because the car leaves the port in a different way.
| Feature | Container | RoRo |
|---|---|---|
| What sits at the port | A sealed container | The car itself |
| Who can charge | The port for storage, the line for its container | The port for storage |
| How it leaves | Hauled to our facility for unloading | Driven off at the port, then collected |
| Main risk | Paperwork or a late bill of lading | Paperwork or a late bill of lading |
With RoRo, there is no container to return, but the car still sits on the port's ground until it is released and cleared. The same documents matter. See container, RoRo or air for how the methods compare in other ways.
Storage before the car even sails
Storage is not only a UK port issue. Some sellers and auction yards charge if a car is not collected quickly. Copart in the USA is one example, which is why we book collection from an auction yard straight away. If you are buying at auction, our guide to buying from a US auction covers the timing.
How to stay inside the free period
Before the car sails
0 of 7 done
Send all of it to us before the car is collected, not after it has sailed. The full list for each situation is in the paperwork you need, and the import tax calculator will give you a rough tax figure to have ready.
If charges have already started
Fear not, the fix is usually the same as the cause. Find out exactly which gate is closed, the line's release or HMRC's clearance, and supply the one thing that is missing as quickly as you can. That is something your agent can see and you often cannot.
If your car is with another agent and already sitting at a UK port, talk to us anyway. We will tell you honestly what we can and cannot do from here.
Questions people ask
What is demurrage on a car shipment?
It is the shipping line charging because its container has been kept beyond the free time it allowed. It is separate from port storage, which is the port charging for the space on its quay.
How much are port storage charges?
They vary by port and shipping line and are usually charged per day once the free period ends. Because they vary so much, the useful thing is to avoid them, which mostly comes down to paperwork being ready before the car sails.
Why do storage charges build up?
The car or container cannot leave until the line has released it and HMRC has cleared it. A mismatched invoice, a VIN error, a missing export document or a late bill of lading can hold it while the charges keep running.
How do you avoid demurrage?
We get the documents right before the car sails, then once the container is released and cleared we haul it, still sealed, to our own facility in Castle Donington and unload it ourselves. That shortens the time at the port and cuts out the port warehouse queue.
Do RoRo cars get storage charges?
They can. There is no container to return, but the car sits on the port until it is released and cleared, and storage can be charged once the free period ends.
Want the paperwork checked before your car sails? Start with the quote form and we will tell you exactly what we need.
