The real question on West Africa transit is your port and routing, not the printed day. Lagos beats Dakar by over 10 days, yet peak rollovers eat that gap. Many trust the quoted '35 days', forget hub wait and clearance, then pay demurrage. The bottom line: stable sailings and low rollover beat the fastest quote.
West Africa has no direct China ro-ro; cargo transships via Singapore, Colombo or Tanjung Pelepas. From our ports: Shanghai or Ningbo to Lagos (Apapa) 32 to 38 days; Shenzhen to Tema (Ghana) 38 to 44; Qingdao or Nansha to Dakar (Senegal) 44 to 52. Sea-leg only; connection adds 5 to 9 days.
We handled 1,200 FCL and ro-ro shipments: Lagos 38 days avg, Tema 43, Dakar 49, rollover below 0.9%. Peak season (May to September rains) adds 7 to 12 days, Apapa worst +18. Lessons: add 10 days to the cheap quote's 'theoretical days'; prefer Singapore; on Dakar reserve free time.
For the importer, day variance is cost. Free time at Lagos, Tema and Dakar is 7 to 14 days, then demurrage climbs a ladder—3 days one rate, 4 to 7 doubled, day 8 a jump, up to 85 dollars per box daily. A third of buyers ate this; NPA controls truck slots, trapping vehicles.
Open our '65-country policy table' for free time and homologation, then the 'import process guide' to lock booking; for rates read 'Duty on FOB or CIF', 'Documents clearance needs', 'Ro-ro or container'. NPA is about to tighten Apapa trucks—confirm the latest free time. Q: Fastest to Lagos? A: ~32 days, plan 38. Q: Rainy weeks? A: May to September +7 to 12 days. Q: Avoid Dakar? A: Singapore, 14 free days, request ladder.
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