Last updated 15 October 2026
Shipping Workwear to Nigeria: Apapa, Tin Can and the Clearance Sequence
Most Nigerian consignments enter through Apapa or Tin Can Island in Lagos, with Onne and Port Harcourt for oil and gas cargo. Transit from Tianjin is 28–34 days to Lagos. But the sea passage is rarely what decides whether your goods arrive on time — the document sequence is. On a Nigerian order the Product Certificate, Form M and SONCAP Certificate all have to be handled in order, and the inspection can only happen once the goods exist. Plan on ten to twelve weeks from deposit to goods on site.
Request a bulk quotation WhatsApp usKey takeaways
- Lagos is the destination for almost every order, with Onne and Port Harcourt for oil and gas. Confirm your clearing agent works at the terminal you are shipping to — the two Lagos terminals are not interchangeable in practice.
- 28–34 days at sea, ten to twelve weeks door to door. The extra time over the sea passage is documentation and clearance, not sailing.
- Garment cargo is light for its volume, so you are buying space rather than weight. Carton configuration changes how many pieces fit, and therefore your freight per piece.
- The conformity certificate sits on the critical path. It cannot be processed once the goods have left China, so it has to be started before production is booked, not after it finishes.
- The delays that actually happen are documentation delays. Almost all of them are avoidable if the sequence is planned from the start.
1. Which port, and what it serves
| Port | Indicative transit | What it serves | Practical note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apapa (Lagos) | 28–34 days | Lagos, the south-west, and most industrial and construction destinations | The default gateway. Most of our Nigerian volume goes here |
| Tin Can Island (Lagos) | 28–34 days | The same hinterland as Apapa | A different terminal from Apapa. Confirm which one your agent works at rather than assuming they are interchangeable |
| Onne / Port Harcourt | 32–40 days | The Niger Delta, oil and gas operators and their contractors | Slower transit but closer to the end user for Delta projects; often carries FR and anti-static garments |
| Inland destinations | Add 2–7 days | Abuja, Kano, Kaduna and northern sites | Tell us the final destination and we will quote the inland leg rather than stopping at the port |
2. Transit times and sailings
All shipments leave from Tianjin, with Qingdao and Shanghai available on request. Transit to Lagos runs 28–34 days port to port, and the schedule holds reasonably well from month to month — the variability on a Nigerian order is on land, not at sea.
Two booking points worth knowing. Sailings to Lagos are frequent, so we are usually choosing between services rather than waiting for the next available slot, which gives some flexibility if a certificate runs a few days long. And the cut-off is when the goods must be at the port, not when they leave our factory — we build the inland haulage into the schedule for that reason.
3. How many garments fit in a container
| Container | Poly-cotton coveralls | Hi-vis vests (compressed) | Trouser and shirt sets |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20GP | Approximately 6,000–8,000 | Approximately 22,000–27,000 | Approximately 5,000–7,000 sets |
| 40HQ | Approximately 12,000–16,000 | Approximately 45,000–55,000 | Approximately 10,000–14,000 sets |
Ranges depend on size mix, garment weight and carton configuration. Uniform sets pack differently from single garments, so tell us if you are ordering pairs.
Because garments are light for their volume, carton configuration changes your freight per piece. A compressed carton that gains 15% more pieces per container reduces your freight per piece by roughly the same proportion — and it also reduces the CIF value that duty is calculated on, so the saving compounds. We quote both a standard export carton and a compressed carton on volume orders so the comparison is in front of you rather than in a conversation.
4. The document sequence, in the order it has to happen
- Confirm whether SONCAP applies and which HS code governs it — your clearing agent, with our classification suggestion as the starting point.
- Register your TIN for trade on the SON portal — the Nigerian importer. Nothing moves without it.
- Appoint the accredited firm from SON's current list and give them the product specification — you and us jointly.
- Submit samples and test reports — us, from the factory. We hold test reports on our standard constructions.
- Product Certificate issued — to the exporter, in the name that will appear on Form M. This is where timelines realistically slip.
- Open Form M through your bank — you, using the PC.
- Confirm the order and produce — us, 25–30 days for standard bulk.
- Pre-shipment inspection, sampling and testing — the accredited firm, at our factory, before loading.
- Certificate of Conformity, then the SONCAP Certificate — the firm issues the CoC, SON issues the SC against it. Officially 96 hours each.
- Ship, then clear on the SONCAP Certificate — your agent processes the PAAR and the customs declaration.
Why we will not skip step 5. We do not load a container before the Product Certificate is in hand, unless you instruct us in writing that you are carrying the clearance risk. Producing and loading first, then discovering the certificate came back in a different entity's name or with a mismatched product description, gives you a finished container you cannot legally ship. We would rather hold production for a week than load that container. The full process, with fees and turnaround, is on the SONCAP guide.
5. Why containers get stuck in Lagos
| Cause | What it costs | How to prevent it |
|---|---|---|
| Form M opened late, holding up the whole chain | Production slips, then the sailing slips | Start the certificate process when you place the order, not when the goods are ready |
| Product Certificate issued in the wrong entity's name | Form M cannot be opened against it; rework and a lost sailing | We confirm the Form M entity in writing before the PC is applied for |
| Invoice description differs from the certificate | Documentary non-conformity at the port, even with perfect goods | We issue the invoice from the same specification sheet the certificate was built from |
| Terminal congestion, often in the last quarter | Demurrage and storage from the day the container lands | Build a buffer into the schedule if your consignment lands in a known congested period |
| Agent and terminal mismatch | The agent discovers on arrival that they are not set up at your terminal | Confirm which terminal your agent works at before we book the sailing |
| Inland leg not planned | The goods clear and then sit, because nobody arranged onward transport | Tell us the final destination and we quote the whole route |
6. Working back from your on-site date
The reliable way to plan a Nigerian order is backwards from the date the goods must be on site.
| Working back from on-site | Allow |
|---|---|
| Inland transport from the port | 2–7 days depending on destination |
| Clearance after arrival | 5–12 days, and longer if anything is wrong with the documents |
| Ocean transit | 28–34 days to Lagos |
| Load and cut-off | 2–5 days |
| Conformity inspection and certificate | 1–3 weeks for a first certificate, faster on a repeat specification |
| Production | 25–30 days standard, 18–22 days from stock fabric |
| Product Certificate and Form M | 2–3 weeks for a first order |
| Total, first order | Approximately 14–18 weeks |
| Total, repeat order | Approximately 10–12 weeks |
If your date is tighter than that, the levers are, in order of effect: use stock fabric and an existing pattern to cut production to 7–12 days; run a multi-use Product Certificate so the conformity step is already in place; and consider shipping part of the order earlier rather than all of it on one sailing. See ready stock and urgent orders for how those routes are priced.
7. Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
How long does shipping to Nigeria take?
28–34 days from Tianjin to Apapa or Tin Can Island, and 32–40 days to Onne or Port Harcourt. Port to port. Add production, the conformity inspection and certificate, then clearance and the inland leg.
How long does the whole order take door to door?
Roughly ten to twelve weeks from deposit to goods on site for a repeat order, and fourteen to eighteen weeks for a first order — the difference is the Product Certificate and Form M stage, which only has to be done once if you take a multi-use certificate.
Should we ship to Apapa or Tin Can Island?
Both serve Lagos and the south-west. The practical question is which terminal your clearing agent is set up to work at, because the two are not interchangeable in practice. Confirm with your agent before we book the sailing rather than after the container arrives.
How many coveralls fit in a 40HQ container?
Approximately 12,000–16,000 depending on size mix, garment weight and carton configuration. Compressed cartons gain around 15% more pieces per container, which reduces freight per piece and also lowers the CIF value that duty is calculated on.
Can you load the container before the certificate is issued?
We will not, unless you instruct us in writing that you are carrying the clearance risk. Loading first and discovering a documentation problem later gives you a finished container you cannot legally ship. We would rather hold production than load that container.
What usually delays a Nigerian consignment?
Documentation, almost always. A late Form M, a Product Certificate in the wrong entity's name, an invoice description that does not match the certificate, or a clearing agent who does not work at the terminal the container was sent to. Terminal congestion in the last quarter is the main non-documentary cause.
Do you quote to the port or to my site?
Both, and we would rather quote the whole route. Tell us the final destination — Lagos, Abuja, Kano or a Delta site — and the inland leg appears as a line in the quotation rather than on an agent's invoice three weeks later.
Order by category
Tell us the date and the destination
Send the quantity and the date the goods must be on site, and we will work backwards through production, the conformity certificate, the sailing, clearance and the inland leg — and tell you honestly whether the date is achievable.
