Guides · Demurrage
Two different clocks, charged by two different people.
Shafiq Traders · Updated 13 September 2026
Demurrage is what the terminal charges when a container sits inside it longer than its free time, and it goes to the terminal operator. Detention is what the shipping line charges once you have taken the container out and it is running late getting back to them empty. Free time is set separately by the terminal and by the carrier, is usually counted from the day the container is discharged, and runs on calendar days: weekends and most holidays included.
Two clocks, and two different people billing
Demurrage and detention get used interchangeably, and the difference is not academic — it decides who gets paid. Demurrage is the terminal's charge for the box occupying its yard. Detention is the shipping line's charge for its equipment being out in the world, in your custody, after you have taken delivery.
A container that has cleared customs and is sitting at the terminal waiting for transport is running demurrage. The same container, once it has gone out the gate to your factory and is slow coming back empty, is running detention instead. They can happen to the same box, one after the other, and they are billed by two different companies.
Demurrage, detention and port rent, side by side
| Charge | Paid to | Runs on | Stops when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demurrage | The terminal operator | The container inside the terminal, past its free time | The container is gated out |
| Detention | The shipping line | Its container in your custody, outside the terminal | The empty is returned to the line |
| Port rent / storage | The port authority | Cargo or the container on port land, under the port's own tariff | Clearance and removal |
Demurrage at one Port Qasim terminal
Qasim International Container Terminal, run by DP World, gives a general import container five calendar days before demurrage starts, and steps the charge up every five days after that.
- Free time, general import container (20ft or 40ft)5 calendar dayson from the day of discharge · QICT General Cargo Tariff
- Demurrage, day 1 to 5 of the charge (20ft / 40ft)Rs 1,100 / Rs 2,200 per dayon after free time · QICT General Cargo Tariff
- Demurrage, after day 20 of the charge (20ft / 40ft)Rs 2,800 / Rs 5,600 per dayon after free time, until clearance · QICT General Cargo Tariff
Checked 13 September 2026 against Qasim International Container Terminal — General Cargo Tariff (DP World). Rates move at the budget and by SRO in between, so confirm the current figure with us before you price a consignment on it.
Detention on one carrier
Maersk gives five free calendar days on a dry import container and three on a reefer, then charges in US dollars, converted to rupees on the day of payment.
- Free time, dry container (20ft / 40ft)5 calendar dayson from the day of discharge · Maersk Pakistan import tariff
- Detention, day 6 to 12 (20ft / 40ft)USD 65 / USD 130 per dayon after free time · Maersk Pakistan import tariff
- Detention, day 17 onward (20ft / 40ft)USD 91 / USD 150 per dayon after free time, until the empty is returned · Maersk Pakistan import tariff
- Free time, reefer container (20ft / 40–45ft)3 calendar dayson from the day of discharge · Maersk Pakistan import tariff
Checked 13 September 2026 against Maersk — Pakistan import local information. Rates move at the budget and by SRO in between, so confirm the current figure with us before you price a consignment on it.
Port rent, set by Port Qasim Authority itself
This is separate again from what the terminal charges: it is the port authority's own rule for when its own storage clock starts on import cargo.
- Import storage beginsAfter 5 working days from completion of the vesselon the authority's own free time, distinct from the terminal's · Port Qasim Authority
- Export storage beginsAfter 10 days from deposit of the cargoon the authority's own free time, distinct from the terminal's · Port Qasim Authority
Checked 13 September 2026 against Port Qasim Authority — FAQ. Rates move at the budget and by SRO in between, so confirm the current figure with us before you price a consignment on it.
Port rent, set by Karachi Port Trust itself
Karachi Port Trust charges its own container storage from the day of discharge, in three bands, with an annual escalation built into the same notification.
- Import container storage, day 1 to 15Rs 35 per foot per dayon from the date of discharge · KPT Scale of Rates, Clause 0406
- Import container storage, day 16 to 40Rs 70 per foot per dayon from the date of discharge · KPT Scale of Rates, Clause 0406
- Import container storage, after day 40Rs 100 per foot per dayon until the container is cleared · KPT Scale of Rates, Clause 0406
- Annual escalation5%on the rates above, each year · written into the same notification
Checked 13 September 2026 against Karachi Port Trust — Scale of Rates, SRO 522(I)/2023. Rates move at the budget and by SRO in between, so confirm the current figure with us before you price a consignment on it.
What actually starts and stops the clock
Free time for a container leaving Karachi Port or Port Qasim by road starts on the day it is discharged from the vessel, whether anyone has come to collect it yet. For a container going on to a dry port like Mughalpura, the carrier's free time only starts once it is gated in there — but the line can still charge detention for the days it sat at the seaport if the documents needed to move it upcountry were late.
Weekends do not pause a carrier's clock; Maersk charges detention on calendar days, including Saturdays and Sundays. A terminal's clock can behave differently: at QICT, a public holiday falling inside the free period adds a day to it, but a holiday after free time has already run out gives nothing back.
A query raised during examination does not stop demurrage or detention either. The container keeps costing money at the terminal while the query sits open, which is exactly why answering one quickly is worth more than almost anything else in a file.
No agent negotiates a terminal's free time or a shipping line's detention tariff down file by file. Those numbers are published, apply to everyone, and are set before your container is even on the water. What we can do is have the delivery order taken and the declaration ready before the vessel berths, so the days you are charged for are the ones the file actually needed, not the ones it sat waiting on us.
Questions
What importers ask about demurrage and detention
Contact
Tell us what is coming.
Give us the product, the port and roughly when the vessel is due, and we will tell you what the clearance involves and what it will cost.