Shipping to and from Canada

Your complete guide to shipping to and from Canada. Find the right route, get Maersk office locations, discover local solutions, payment options and more.

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Export

Get up-to-date local information about export procedures and restrictions, demurrage and detention, container drop-offs and more.

Free time will commence on the first calendar day following the equipment's arrival at the loading port. Free time includes Saturday, Sunday and holidays. After expiration of free time, equipment remaining on the loading port will be assessed demurrage as follows:

For containers in-gated prior to the shipment’s earliest receipt date, but loads its originally scheduled vessel, demurrage will apply for each calendar day including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays prior to the earliest receipt date.
For containers in-gated before, on, or after the earliest receipt date, and do not load its originally scheduled vessel for any reason not a result of Carrier error, demurrage will apply per calendar day including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays until the cargo loads, or scheduled vessel sail date, whichever event occurs first.

Charges per calendar day after freetime

All Terminals	7 Calendar Days
All Terminals Dry equipment, including shipper owned equipment and non-operating refrigerated containers	7 Calendar Days Days 1-4 USD 150.00 per day, or fraction Day 5 and above USD 180.00 per day, or fraction there of
All Terminals Operating refrigerated containers	7 Calendar Days Days 1-3 USD 350.00 per day, or fraction thereof Day 4 and above USD 480.00 per day, or fraction thereof
All Terminals Flat beds, flat racks, open top containers or any other specialized equipment	7 Calendar Days Days 1-3 USD 350.00 per day, or fraction thereof Day 4 and above USD 480.00 per day, or fraction thereof

Detention

Free time for carrier’s equipment commences on the day equipment departs from carrier’s container yard.

Detention (Carrier Haulage) & Per Diem (Merchant Haulage) Freetime

Container Type	Business days
Container Type DRY	Business days Four (4) business days Commencing and including day of pickup
Container Type REEFER, Non-Operating REEFER and Special Equipment	Business days Three (3) business days Commencing and including day of pickup

Charges per calendar day after free-time

Days	DRY & non-operating REEFER equipment	Days	Operating REEFER and special equipment
Days 1 - 4	DRY & non-operating REEFER equipment 140 USD	Days 1 - 3	Operating REEFER and special equipment 330 USD
Days 5 - 8	DRY & non-operating REEFER equipment 190 USD	Days 4 - 7	Operating REEFER and special equipment 435 USD
Days 9+	DRY & non-operating REEFER equipment 220 USD per day	Days 5+	Operating REEFER and special equipment 470 USD

Exception to Above:

Reefer Equipment Detention: Montreal & Toronto
- 5 working days free time once removed from Carrier’s CY facility
Reefer Equipment Detention: Vancouver
- 8 working days free time once removed from Carrier’s CY facility
Reefer Equipment Detention: Halifax & St. John’s
- 10 working days free time once removed from Carrier’s CY facility
Dry Equipment Detention for exports of Grain, Rice, Flour, Seeds, Nuts, Cereals, Used Automobiles, and Used Clothing:
- 7 working days free time once removed from Carrier’s CY facility. After free time expires, detention charges will be Day 1 USD 140, Days 2-5 USD 190, Days 6+ USD 220.
Dry Equipment Detention for exports of Wood:
- 5 working days free time once removed from Carrier’s CY facility. After free time expires, detention charges will be Days 1-3 USD 140, Days 4-7 USD 190, Days 8+ USD 220.
Dry Equipment Detention for exports of Hay:
- 10 working days free time once removed from Carrier’s CY facility. After free time expires, detention charges will be Days Days 1-2 USD 190, Days 3+ USD220.

Maersk offers the flexibility to meet your seasonal needs with service built to match your requirements.

We’re offering seasonal service from Alaska to the Far East to deliver your seafood fresh and on time. With expert support and innovative reefer technology, your refrigerated cargo is safe in our hands. Discover more about these export opportunities, including sailing schedules, in our online flyer.

Online flyer

PDF (378KB)

Most of our restrictions relate to b/l clausing, which follow:

Agreement on demurrage/detention charges and free days cannot be added to b/l bound for India.
Value of the goods cannot be added to Bs/l, unless an ad-valorem b/l is required.
Maersk is not a conference line out of Canada, therefore b/l clauses/certificates requiring otherwise statement cannot be issued.

Private individual strictly not allowed. A private person (shipping for example personal goods) needs to be represented by a registered company and cannot appear on the Transport Document alone.

If any other certificate or further information is necessary, please contact our Customer Resource Centre department.

Background

Please see below details for Verified Gross Mass (VGM) submission in Canada. Transport Canada, the enforcement agency from the Canadian government, has issued their implementation guidelines which can be found by clicking here.

For information on requirements regarding the calibration and the certification of weighing equipment for the purpose of trade the shipper may contact any of the authorized service providers (ASP) recognized by Measurement Canada and listed on the following web site.

VGM cutoffs in Canada

As a general guidance, the VGM should be received by Maersk two (2) hours prior to cargo cut-off if sent via EDI or e-channels, and twelve (12) hours prior to cargo cut-off for manual submission. While your VGM cut-off will be noted on your booking confirmation, we can confirm the following cutoffs for our services in Canada:

Terminal	Service	VGM cutoff via e-channels	VGM cutoff via manual channels	Cargo cutoff	Local Time
Terminal Halifax	Service Halifax Terminal 1	VGM cutoff via e-channels Canada Atlantic Express	VGM cutoff via manual channels 2 hours prior to CY cut	Cargo cutoff 12 hours prior to CY cut	Local Time FRI 16:00
Terminal Montreal**	Service Montreal Racine Terminal	VGM cutoff via e-channels Canada Atlantic Express	VGM cutoff via manual channels 2 hours prior to CY cut	Cargo cutoff 12 hours prior to CY cut	Local Time FRI 15:00
Terminal Prince Rupert	Service Prince Rupert Cntr Terminal	VGM cutoff via e-channels TP8	VGM cutoff via manual channels 2 hours prior to CY cut	Cargo cutoff 12 hours prior to CY cut	Local Time TUE 16:30
Terminal Vancouver	Service Delta Port Terminal	VGM cutoff via e-channels TP9	VGM cutoff via manual channels 2 hours prior to CY cut	Cargo cutoff 12 hours prior to CY cut	Local Time FRI 16:00

Please note this information is subject to change thus we highly encourage you to revisit this information on our website for further updates.

* Terminal policy, VGM deadlines and CY cargo cutoffs are subject to change without notice. Please continue to check our website for updates or contact your local customer service representative.

** Terminal Fees related to VGM are decided and applied by the terminal and not by Maersk. For information about terminal weighing services, please click on the terminal name for details.