What the new Peruvian deep-water port changes for importers — transit times, the container and RoRo options, and how cargo clears once it lands.
Chancay is the first deep-water port on South America's Pacific coast built around China trade. It opened in November 2024, began commercial operations in June 2025, and in its first full calendar year moved 336,200 TEU alongside roughly 1.59 million tonnes of break-bulk and bulk cargo.
For importers of China-made vehicles the significance is straightforward: a shorter sea leg, and a second gateway into Peru that does not compete with Callao for the same berths. This page sets out what the port is, what has changed, and what still has to clear when a shipment arrives — with each figure traceable to the operator or to Peru's own authorities.
Chancay is a deep-water port on Peru's central coast, opened in November 2024 and in commercial operation since June 2025, developed by COSCO Shipping Ports (60%) together with Peruvian partners. Its direct Shanghai–Chancay service cut China–Peru transit from 35–40 days to about 23 days, with two scheduled sailings a week. The port handles container and roll-on/roll-off cargo — RoRo volume reached 44,000 tonnes in the first half of 2026, up 340% year on year — and feeder services link it onward to Chile, Ecuador and Colombia. Cargo still clears under Peru's own rules: SUNAT and MTC formalities, the ITP inspection, and the age, mileage and emission limits that apply to the vehicle itself.
The direct Shanghai–Chancay service shortened the sea leg between China and Peru by roughly a third, whichever way the cargo is carried.
Chancay takes both. Vehicles can move in containers or over roll-on/roll-off ramps, and the choice changes handling, consolidation and cost structure.
Feeder services run onward along the west coast, so a shipment landing at Chancay does not have to finish its journey in Peru.
A shorter voyage does not change what has to be cleared: SUNAT and MTC formalities, the ITP inspection, and the vehicle's own age, mileage and emission limits.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Opened | 14 November 2024; commercial operations from 1 June 2025 |
| Operated by | COSCO Shipping Ports (60%) with Peruvian partners |
| Container throughput, first half 2026 | 200,000 TEU, up 70.9% year on year |
| RoRo cargo handled, first half 2026 | 44,000 tonnes, up 340% year on year |
| Vehicles imported through the port, 2025 | 25,813 units |
| Shanghai–Chancay transit | About 23 days, against 35–40 days on the previous routing |
| Scheduled services | 3 mainliner services (WSA3, WSA5, ACSA1) plus 5 feeder services |
Sea time is working capital. On the previous routing a China–Peru shipment spent 35–40 days at sea; the direct service brought that to about 23 days, and the operator reports more than 20% lower logistics cost on the lane. For a dealer holding stock the shorter leg compounds: faster turnover on the same capital, less time for a unit to age before it reaches the showroom, and a smaller buffer needed against schedule disruption.
It also changes what is practical. A unit that sits close to an age or mileage ceiling on arrival has more margin when the voyage is shorter, and mixed loads are easier to sequence when the arrival window is tighter and more predictable.
Chancay handles both container and roll-on/roll-off traffic, and the two are not interchangeable. RoRo is the conventional route for finished vehicles: the unit is driven on and off, handling is minimal, and the cost structure rewards volume on a single sailing. Container shipping suits one or two units, suits consolidation with spare parts or other cargo, and protects the vehicle from weather and casual handling — at the cost of ramp fees and a loading process that has to be supervised.
For an importer the practical question is usually not which is better in the abstract but which is available for the sailing that suits the order. Both move through Chancay at scale: the port handled 25,813 imported vehicles in 2025, and RoRo volume in the first half of 2026 was 44,000 tonnes, up 340% year on year.
Chancay sits on the west-coast trunk line and runs feeder services onward, so a shipment that lands there is not necessarily finished in Peru. The operator also describes onward connections to key terminals in Chile.
That matters for importers working more than one market. A single discharge point on the west coast, with onward coastal legs, can simplify consolidation for buyers who also supply Ecuador, Colombia or Chile. Where a shipment ultimately clears is decided by the destination country's own rules, not by the port of discharge, and the two should be worked out together before booking.
The port is new; Peru's import rules are not. Vehicles entering the country are assessed against the age, mileage and emission limits in force, and against SUNAT and MTC formalities at entry, including the ITP technical inspection. Those requirements are set out in full on our Peru market page, and they apply at Chancay exactly as they do at Callao.
Two points catch importers out. First, on the used line the age and mileage ceilings are checked separately — a unit that passes on one can fail on the other. Second, the emission standard has moved, and the figure that applies depends on the date of manufacture and on the rules in force at the time of shipment. Both should be confirmed against the regulation in force before a unit is committed.
Which port and which sailing we use is confirmed order by order, against the schedules in force at the time of booking — Chancay and Callao are both in regular use, and the right choice depends on the destination, the unit and the sailing that fits.
What does not change with the port is the rest of the work: verifying each unit against the destination's age, mileage and emission limits before sourcing, preparing the documents the shipment will need at entry, and keeping the loading and clearance steps visible to the buyer as they happen. Commercial terms — price, lead time, payment and certificates — are quoted per order and confirmed in a formal contract.
Operating figures are published by the port operator and by Peru's authorities and are reproduced here as a snapshot; throughput, transit times and service patterns change, and the operator's current schedule governs. Nothing on this page is a binding offer — price, lead time, payment terms and certificates are quoted per order and confirmed in a formal contract. Sources: COSCO Shipping Ports and COSCO Shipping Group (ports.coscoshipping.com, coscoshipping.com); Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas y de Administración Tributaria (sunat.gob.pe); Ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones (mtc.gob.pe); Peruvian Government portal (gob.pe). Last reviewed October 2026.
Tell us the destination, the units and the timing. We will confirm the route and the documents the shipment needs at entry.
