Shipping to and from South Africa

Last Updated: 19th January 2022

AMEX

LOC: Africa
Service Code: 40

EUROPE

LOC: Africa
Service Code: 278

JAPAN-CHINA

LOC: Africa

Commodity

• Hazardous classes 1, 7 and 9, are all subject to approval before acceptance.
• No acceptance of Used Tyres
• No acceptance of Non DG charcoal
• No acceptance of Asbestos

Weight & Measurement

Specifically for 20’ Containers:

24 TONS Maximum Payload for road haulage (inclusive of container tare weight)

22 TONS Maximum payload for railed containers (exclusive of container tare weight)

Specifically for 40’ Containers:

28 TONS Maximum payload for road haulage (inclusive of container tare weight)

29.4 TONS Maximum payload for railed containers (exclusive of container tare weight)

Overweight containers are subject to a fine imposed by the Government. Requests for movement of overweight cargo can be obtained from your nearest Maersk office.

Effective 1 July 2016 the Shipper(or its representative agent) will be required to include theVerified Gross Mass(VGM) when submitting the pre-advise via NAVIS.The Navis update will updateall Maersk systems and no further system updates is required from the Shipper.

Special Cargoes- No restrictions on movement of containers to inland points and are subject to rates supplied by our Intemodal Dept and can be contacted thru your nearest Maersk Customer Service Teams.

Bill of Lading Clauses- No special clauses/restrictions apply.

45' Containers- No acceptance of 45' containers in South Africa.

Customs requirements- Customs documents (Cargo Dues + Bill of entry) are mandatory for Bill of Lading issue.

Booking Amendment Video Tutorial

This tutorial will give you a quick guide through amending your bookings on Maersk website.

The list below provides links to the latest terminal stack dates on the Transnet Website:

• Cape Town Combi Terminal
• Cape Town container terminal
• Durban container terminal pier 1
• Durban container terminal pier 2
• Multi-purpose terminal point
• Ngqura container terminal
• Port Elizabeth terminal 

In the situation where your container is stopped and detained by Customs (South African Revenue Services, SARS); SAPS (South African Police Force) or the NRCS in South Africa, and you do not have representation for the inspection at the depot, MAERSK can arrange with one of our trusted vendors to be present and represent you at the depot for inspection.

By using this service, the safety and integrity of the cargo is kept intact, where photographs will be taken at each stage from breaking of seal – completion of inspection, creating complete visibly and peace of mind.

• First day of inspection is R630.00 (ex VAT.) for a 20’ & 40’ Container
• If it is a full unpack, the 2nd day and any day after is R350.00 (ex VAT.)
• MAERSK will add an admin fee of R450.00 (ex VAT.)

Important to Note: Additional charges apply in the rare instance when an Official request a full sort or inventory to be done on a shipment. The added rate for sorting and inventory is R530.00 (ex VAT.) per day per 20-foot container, and R980.00 (ex VAT.) per day per 40-foot container. Extra labour is needed to assist with the physical sorting and taking inventory of the cargo.

The assigned customer’s representative scope will include:

• Arrange to meet with officials at the inspection site and conducting the physical inspection with the officials
• Be present at the breaking of seal
• Be present at opening of container doors
• If just a tailboard is required, doors will be shut with new seal
• If unpack is required, once unpack is complete on warehouse floor, the representative will conduct a packing list with the relevant officials and depot officials, ensuring nothing goes wrong
• Step-by-step feedback will be provided to Maersk, creating visibly in the instance of any damage or stolen cargo – document will be shared with customer once container is released
• Once inspection is finalised, the duty of the repetitive is complete at this stage and will leave
• The representative will follow up with the relevant authorities, it will typically take 1-3 days to get release
• Furthermore, a report document will be forwarded to the customer with the findings of the inspection.

The Rationale Behind This Service:

In the absence of a representative for an inspection of your stopped container, it will often result in massive delays, as officials refuse to open the container for inspection without customer representation, resulting in weeks and sometimes months of storage incurred by the customer. By using this value-add inspection service MAERSK is offering, you as the customer can have representation on the day of inspection with feedback and photo updates of the progress. Once the inspection is complete, the representative will follow up with the authorities to get release of the container as soon as possible. This is saving customers a significant amount of money in storage, which would otherwise be incurred.

If you have any questions on the inspection service, please feel free to get in touch with za.stops@maersk.com.

Demurrage 

This fee is applicable when the customer holds carrier equipment in the terminal for longer than the agreed amount of free time. It can be incurred for both exports (early drop-off) and imports (late pick-up).
Export: Demurrage days are counted from gate-in (full) to container loading minus free days.
Import: Demurrage days are counted from container discharge to gate-out (full) minus free days.
Applicable to all containers that remain at a terminal location longer than agreed free time.
*Applicable calculation methods may vary by country.

Storage will be invoiced by Maersk in line with extended use of the container after agreed freetime has expired for South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.

Detention

Detention charges occur when the consignee holds onto the carrier’s container outside of the port, terminal, or depot beyond the free time that is allotted. 
Export: Detention days are counted from pick-up empty to gate-in full minus free days.
Import: Detention days are counted from gate-out full to gate-in empty minus free days.*
This fee is applicable to all containers that remain in the customer’s possession longer than the agreed free time.
*Applicable calculation methods may vary by country.

The charges listed are:

Effective from: 01/04/2021
Expired on: 31/03/2022

Export Detention

Please complete the registration form and send to za.export@maersk.com

The Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB) is an independent service provider of quality certification and cold chain management services for producers and exporters of perishable food products.

Click to access PPECB

Remote Container Management (RCM) interface turns your reefer container into a digitally connected device capable of transmitting its location, power status, temperature, humidity and air supply

Click to access RCM

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