Barrel, boxes, a car or a full container? Get a free sea freight quote — describe the load once and we’ll connect you with a trusted UK–Nigeria sea freight operator. One enquiry, matched to the right service. You pay the operator directly; no payment is taken on this site.
The rates on this page are typical market rates for the corridor — your exact quote depends on the operator, weight and destination.
Sea freight rates to Nigeria
Sea pricing works by unit — box, barrel, cubic metre, vehicle or container — rather than the pure per-kg logic of air. Here’s the current shape of the market:
| Item / unit | Typical rate (guide) | Transit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boxed cargo (per kg) | £2.50–£3.50/kg | 4–8 weeks* | minimum typically 30kg |
| Barrel (full) | from ~£60 | 4–8 weeks* | best value per item on the route |
| Per CBM (part load) | Get a quote | 4–8 weeks* | priced by volume |
| Car / saloon (RoRo) | from ~£450 | 4–8 weeks* | plus documentation |
| 20ft / 40ft container | POA — get a quote | 4–8 weeks* | full container load |
* Congestion at Apapa and Tin Can Island can add 5–15 days on top of any transit guide — a fact of life on this route that every honest quote should acknowledge. A handling fee of typically ~£20 applies with most operators.
Per box & per barrel rates
Boxed cargo is typically charged at £2.50–£3.50/kg with a 30kg minimum, so a well-filled 40kg box costs roughly £100–£140 at guide rates. The barrel, from ~£60 full, remains the corridor’s classic for good reason: it’s waterproof, tamper-resistant, stackable, and swallows an astonishing amount of garri, rice, tinned food, toiletries and clothing. If your load is dense and mixed, the barrel usually wins on price per item.
Per CBM / part-load rates
Furniture, appliances and odd-shaped cargo are priced by volume — per cubic metre — as part of a consolidated (groupage) load sharing container space with other shippers. CBM rates vary enough by operator and month that a published number would mislead, so this one is genuinely get a quote: send dimensions and we’ll return a real figure.
Full container (20ft & 40ft) rates
Full container load (FCL) suits house moves, commercial stock and anyone shipping more than roughly 10–12 CBM, where paying for the whole box beats paying per cube. 20ft and 40ft rates move with vessel space, season and destination port, so they’re strictly POA — get a quote. Guide figures for everything else sit on the price list.
Car & vehicle (RoRo) rates
Roll-on/roll-off shipping for a saloon car starts from ~£450 at typical market rates; SUVs, vans and trucks price up by size, and shipping a vehicle inside a container costs more but adds security. Nigerian import duty is a separate cost on arrival and depends on the vehicle’s age and value. The full rundown — documents, ports, duty, process — is on car shipping to Nigeria.
How long does sea freight to Nigeria take?
Plan on 4–8 weeks door to door at typical market pace: UK receiving and consolidation, ocean transit to Lagos, clearance, then delivery. Now the caveat that matters — Apapa and Tin Can Island congestion can add 5–15 days, and in bad spells it does. Any operator promising a fixed arrival date on this route is selling certainty they don’t have. The practical answer is to ship early: cargo intended for December — and everything moves in December — should be on the water by September or early October, no stories.
What you can ship by sea
Sea’s strength is that weight barely matters — so this is where the heavy, bulky and numerous things go.
Barrels, boxes & furniture
Foodstuff in bulk (rice, garri, palm oil in sealed containers, tinned goods), toiletries, clothing by the bale, shoes, cookware, small appliances, mattresses, sofas, wardrobes, fridges, freezers, generators — all standard sea cargo on this corridor. Families topping up a household, traders restocking a shop, and anyone sending the annual 家 barrels home are the backbone of the route.
Cars & vehicles
Saloons, SUVs, vans, trucks, buses and machinery all move by RoRo or container. From ~£450 for a saloon at guide rates, plus documentation and Nigerian duty on arrival. Details on the car shipping page.
Prohibited items
Not by sea, under any operator’s terms: weapons and ammunition, narcotics, counterfeit goods, hazardous chemicals, and cash. Nigerian customs additionally restricts some imports — certain foodstuffs, second-hand items and pharmaceuticals face rules that change. The five-second insurance policy: WhatsApp 07587484631 with the item before you seal the barrel. We’ll give you a straight answer or check with the operator who’d carry it.
Sailing schedule & departure dates
Straight answer, because this page won’t pretend otherwise: we don’t publish a fixed sailing timetable, and the independent operators we connect you with load consolidated cargo regularly — typically fortnightly — with exact cut-off and departure dates confirmed when you enquire. Schedules genuinely do shift with vessel space and season, which is why a date given on the day beats a timetable published last month. Tell us when your cargo can be ready and we’ll match you with an operator whose next loading fits — WhatsApp 07587484631 or request a quote.
How to book sea freight
- Describe the load — barrels, box count and rough weights, furniture dimensions, or the vehicle. Use the quote form, WhatsApp 07587484631, or email quotes@sendcargotonigeria.co.uk.
- Get matched and priced — we pass the enquiry to a sea freight operator suited to that cargo type, who confirms a firm quote and the next loading date.
- Hand over your cargo — drop off at the operator’s receiving point, or arrange collection across East London and the East of England — Ilford, Barking, Romford, Walthamstow, Dagenham, plus Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. You pay the operator directly.
- Arrival and delivery — after clearance at Lagos, delivery to the door or collection from the operator’s office, with delivery available to all 36 Nigerian states. How tracking works is explained in how it works.
Packing for sea freight
Six to eight weeks in a container rewards careful packing. Line barrels with heavy-duty bags before loading foodstuff, and pack dense items low. Seal every box against humidity — the hold is not a dry cupboard. Wrap furniture in blankets then plastic; drain and tape shut anything with liquid. Number every box and barrel, keep a written inventory per unit, and photograph each one sealed. Label with the receiver’s full name, address and two phone numbers. Insurance, offered by most operators for a small percentage of declared value, is worth taking on electronics and appliances.
Door-to-door sea shipping
The full-service option: collection from your UK address, ocean freight, clearance, and delivery to a Nigerian doorstep in any of the 36 states. Collection can be arranged across East London and the East of England, quoted by postcode and load size on top of the freight rate; remote-state doorstep delivery can carry a supplement over office pickup in Nigeria. If lifting barrels into a van is not your idea of a weekend, this is the option — see door-to-door shipping to Nigeria.
Why book through Send Cargo To Nigeria
Send Cargo To Nigeria is an enquiry and introduction service — shipments are carried out by independent freight operators. For sea cargo, that structure earns its keep:
- Matched to the right specialist — the best barrel consolidator is rarely the best car shipper. One enquiry, routed to an operator who actually does your kind of job.
- Typical rates in the open — guide prices published and dated (reviewed July 2026), on a route where most firms quote only by phone.
- No payment on this site — your money goes directly to the operator carrying the cargo, with the price agreed in writing first.
- Honest timelines — 4–8 weeks plus a possible 5–15 days of port congestion is the truth; we’d rather you plan around it than be surprised by it.
Sea freight to Nigeria — FAQs
How much does sea freight to Nigeria cost?
Typical market rates: boxed cargo at £2.50–£3.50/kg (30kg minimum), full barrels from ~£60, saloon cars from ~£450 by RoRo, with part-loads priced per CBM and full containers quote-only. A handling fee of typically ~£20 applies with most operators. Exact quotes depend on the operator, weight and destination.
How long does sea shipping to Nigeria take?
Typically 4–8 weeks door to door, covering UK consolidation, ocean transit, Lagos clearance and final delivery. Congestion at Apapa and Tin Can Island can add a further 5–15 days, so build slack into any deadline — December cargo should ship by September or early October.
How much is a barrel to Nigeria?
From ~£60 for a full barrel at typical market rates, with the usual 4–8 week transit. Packed properly, one barrel carries dozens of kilograms of foodstuff, toiletries and clothing, which is why it beats per-kg boxed rates for dense mixed loads almost every time.
Can I ship a car to Nigeria by sea?
Yes — RoRo shipping for a saloon starts from ~£450 at typical market rates, with larger vehicles priced by size and container shipping available at a premium. Allow 4–8 weeks plus possible port delays, and budget separately for Nigerian import duty. See the car shipping page.
How much is a 20ft or 40ft container to Nigeria?
Full container rates are genuinely quote-only — they move with vessel space, season and destination port, sometimes by hundreds of pounds within a single quarter. Anyone publishing a fixed FCL price is publishing fiction. Send your load details for a current figure: request a quote or WhatsApp 07587484631.
When is the next sailing?
The operators we work with load consolidated cargo regularly — typically fortnightly — with exact cut-off and departure dates confirmed on enquiry, because schedules shift with vessel space and season. Message 07587484631 with your ready date and we’ll match you to an operator whose next loading fits it.
Do you offer door-to-door sea delivery?
Yes — collection can be arranged across East London and the East of England (postcodes IG, RM, E17, CM, SS, CO, LU, PE, AL, WD, SG, NR, IP), with delivery to all 36 Nigerian states. Collection and remote-state doorstep delivery are quoted on top of the freight rate.
How should I pack for sea freight?
Pack for 4–8 weeks in a humid container: line barrels with heavy-duty bags, seal boxes against moisture, wrap furniture in blankets then plastic, and keep single boxes liftable. Number every unit, keep one inventory list per box or barrel, photograph everything sealed, and label with two receiver phone numbers.
Get a sea freight quote
The cheapest way to move real weight to Nigeria starts with one message — barrels, boxes, furniture, a car or a full container.
Request your free sea freight quote · WhatsApp/call 07587484631 · quotes@sendcargotonigeria.co.uk
Still weighing it up? Compare air freight for urgent items, browse the full price list, or start from shipping to Nigeria from the UK.