Sea Freight

Container shipping into East Africa

Most goods reach Tanzania, Kenya and their landlocked neighbours by sea through Dar es Salaam or Mombasa. CFA Logistics books the space, follows the container across the ocean, clears it through customs and trucks it to you, so you deal with one company instead of four. With representation in Dubai and Hong Kong, we can also handle cargo from the supplier's door when you buy on EXW or FOB terms.

Full container or shared container?

• FCL (full container load): a 20ft, 40ft or 40ft high-cube container for your cargo alone. Faster at destination and the better price once you have enough cargo to fill most of a container.
• LCL (less than container load): your cargo shares a container with other shippers and you pay by cubic metre (CBM). The right choice for smaller shipments; it takes a little longer because the container is unpacked at destination.

As a rough guide, LCL is usually cheaper below about 13–15 CBM. Use the CBM calculator on our quote page and we'll tell you which works out better for your cargo.

What a sea freight price covers

• Origin charges: pickup, export clearance and loading at the port of loading
• Ocean freight to Dar es Salaam or Mombasa
• Destination charges: terminal handling, shipping-line delivery order and container deposit
• Customs clearing, duties and taxes (see clearing and forwarding)
• Delivery by truck to your premises or the next border

Our quotes say clearly which of these are included, so there are no surprise charges when the container lands.

Special cargo

We also move refrigerated containers, flat racks and open-tops for oversized items, and dangerous goods with the right declarations. For machinery and cargo too big for a container, see project cargo.

Common questions

How long does shipping from China to Dar es Salaam take?

It depends on the port of loading, the shipping line's route and any transshipment, and clearing and delivery come on top. We'll give you a realistic date for your port pair when we quote.

Which Incoterms should I buy on?

Buying FOB or EXW lets us control the shipment from origin and usually gives the clearest total cost. With CIF, the supplier picks the shipping line and destination charges can be higher than expected.

Do you ship exports too?

Yes. We book export containers out of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa and handle the export documents.

Ready to ship? Get a sea freight quote with your origin, cargo volume and delivery address.