Container free days are the window in which an import container can sit at the terminal, or travel to your premises and back, before charges start. Over the December shutdown that window collides with closed warehouses, public holidays and slow empty returns, and the result is often an invoice that arrives in January.
The most common question is whether free time stops for public holidays and weekends. In most cases it does not. The published South African terms we checked count calendar days, and the 2026/27 Transnet Port Terminals tariff book contains no public-holiday extension.
This guide explains the three charging clocks, how they run across December 2026 and January 2027, and the practical steps that keep your containers inside their free time.
What Are Container Free Days?
Three different clocks can apply to the same import container, charged by two different parties.
| Charge | Who charges it | Where the container is | Example of free time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port storage | Terminal operator | Inside the port terminal | 3 days at Durban Pier 1, counted from 00h01 on the day after discharge; 5 days for rail-bound City Deep boxes (TPT tariff book 2026/27) |
| Demurrage | Shipping line | Inside the terminal, using the line’s container | 3 days for Maersk imports at Durban from 15 April 2026 (Maersk) |
| Detention | Shipping line | Outside the terminal until the empty is returned | 5 calendar days for Swire dry imports, from discharge to empty return (Swire Shipping) |
DHL’s South African freight forwarding guide uses the same definitions: demurrage for the line’s container while it stays in the terminal, detention for its use outside, and storage for the space it occupies (DHL). Some lines combine demurrage and detention into one allowance, so read the wording on your booking.
Do Container Free Days Stop for Public Holidays?
Assume they do not. The terminal storage rules count from a fixed time after discharge, and the line terms above are written in calendar days. Nothing in the documents we checked pauses the clock for Christmas Day, the Day of Goodwill or New Year’s Day.
Relief does happen, but it is discretionary. In September 2026, the Durban Gateway Terminal waived storage during its recovery period and asked shipping lines to consider extra free time (SAAFF member update, 1 September 2026). Unless you hold a written extension for a specific container, plan as if every holiday counts.
Charges are also under scrutiny. In July 2026 a group representing transporters complained to the Competition Commission about storage and demurrage charges, and in September the Commission said it was doing a preliminary assessment (Freight News). That does not change what is owed today.
What Does the Shutdown Do to Free Time?
Here is an illustrative example using the published rules above. A 40ft import container is discharged at Durban Pier 1 on Monday 21 December 2026 and goes by road:
- Storage: free from 00h01 on Tuesday 22 December for three days. If the container is still in the terminal on Friday 25 December, storage starts on Christmas Day, at R5,396 excluding VAT for day four under the 2026/27 tariff book.
- Detention: with five calendar days from discharge, free time ends on Friday 25 December. If the receiver only reopens on Monday 4 January and the empty goes back on Tuesday 5 January, the container runs up 11 days of detention.
Your line’s terms may differ, but the pattern is typical: a container that lands in the last week before Christmas has very little chance of finishing its free time before the shutdown, unless it goes somewhere that is open.
How Can You Protect Your Free Time Over December?
- Ask for extra free time before the vessel arrives. Requests made after charges start are much harder to win. Get any extension in writing, against specific container numbers.
- Lodge clearance documents early. Every day spent waiting for release is a day of free time used.
- Move the container out of the terminal before storage starts. If cargo is not yet cleared, it can move under bond to a licensed container depot; see our guide to the Remover of Goods in Bond.
- Unpack at a depot and return the empty. Detention stops when the empty is returned, not when you collect your goods. Unpacking at a depot ends the detention clock days or weeks earlier.
- Return the empty to the right depot. Lines nominate turn-in depots and can charge for empties dropped elsewhere. Our guide to empty container return in Johannesburg explains how nominations work.
- Keep the paperwork. Gate-in times and the Equipment Interchange Receipt are your evidence if a charge is disputed.
For the wider causes of demurrage, see our guide to avoiding container demurrage charges.
How Does Shipping & General Help Over the Shutdown?
Our customs-licensed container depot in Germiston, about 5 km from City Deep, takes cleared and uncleared containers out of the port system, unpacks them, and stores the cargo until your site reopens.
The depot is also a nominated empty turn-in station for CMA CGM, Evergreen, Ignazio Messina and ZIM, so for those lines the container can be unpacked and turned in at the same site, which stops the detention clock without a second truck trip.
Frequently Asked Questions About Container Free Days
What is the difference between demurrage and detention?
Demurrage is charged by the shipping line while its container stays in the terminal. Detention is charged while the container is outside the terminal and ends when the empty is returned.
Do container free days include weekends?
Usually, yes. The South African terms checked for this article count calendar days, so weekends and public holidays use up free time unless your contract says otherwise.
When does port storage free time start?
At Durban Pier 1 it starts at 00h01 on the day after the container is discharged from the vessel, under the 2026/27 Transnet Port Terminals tariff book.
Can I ask a shipping line for more free days?
Yes. Lines can grant extended free time, especially for regular customers or when a terminal is disrupted. Ask before the vessel arrives and get the extension confirmed in writing.
Does detention stop when I collect my cargo?
No. Detention stops when the empty container is returned to the depot the line has nominated, which is why unpacking quickly matters.
Need to Get Empties Back Before the Clock Runs Out?
Send us the container numbers, vessel and shipping line, and we will tell you how quickly we can collect, unpack and turn in each container.
We can also hold the cargo at our Germiston depot until your warehouse reopens in January.