My container is stuck at the Port of Douala: causes and solutions

A container stuck at the Port of Douala is almost never « Customs » by default. It is a specific step that has not been closed. Each day of waiting is then paid in storage, demurrage or detention — the scales depend on the carrier and the terminal (Douala Port Authority). Many importers lose the first week chasing everyone at once: PAD, shipping agent, haulier, a contact « at Customs ». Without naming the step, those chasers do not move the file forward; they scatter

it. This article only serves to name the step. Then you change p

• ge: CAMCIS hold (value, HS, lane, DI/RVC) → goods held by Cus
• oms BAE already issued, truck or terminal that does not follow through → pickup after arr

val The GUCE separates pre-clearance, take-over, clearance and pickup. Mixing these phases means calling the wrong desk and letting the meter

run.1. The three places where a container gets s

uck At the Port of Douala, a « hold » almost always falls into one of these three boxes. Diagnosis is choosing the right one, not stacking hypot

closed Stop saying « my container is stuck ». Ask: which line of this table are we on? Once the line is chosen, the rest of the method (documents, timelines, contact) becomes obvious. Until the line is chosen, each day looks like the pre

vious one.2. Decision tree in five

questions Put these questions, in this order, to your licensed customs broker. Require a written answer, even a short one: an oral status distorts from one call to

1. the next. Does the manifest / B/L identify the right lot and the right
2. onsignee? Is the declaration registered
3. n CAMCIS? What is the lane (green / yellow / red) and is there a writt
4. n reason? Is the B
5. E usable? Are THC, exit pass and truck chained

together? If you cannot answer (1)–(3), this is not yet a pickup issue. If (4) and (5) are the only « no », this is no longer a Customs issue. That split avoids the most expensive reflex: treating a truck delay as a dispute, or a value challenge as a q

uay problem.3. The first 72 hours: what really chang

s the meter Day 0 (berthing). Check the file: invoice, packing list, B/L, BESC when the ocean flow requires it, DI if the threshold applies. In the clearance guide, the DI is mandatory for an FOB value ≥ 2 million FCFA, before loading. Customs also recalls domiciliation from 5 million FCFA FOB (CEMAC exchange rules). Subject to the texts in force. A missing document discovered on berthing day can still be caught up; discovered too late, it is paid

in storage. Day 1. Read the CAMCIS status and the reason. A yellow lane is not automatically « a missing document »: it is a request for verification. Answer it the same day, not « afte

the weekend ». Day 2. If the file is liquidated, switch to pickup: THC, exit pass, truck slot, empty return. The demurrage / storage / detention meter does not stop on its own. A BAE obtained on Tuesday without a truck on Wednesday is already o

e day too many. Beyond that, each chase without a step diagnosis adds days, not clarity. The clearance guide at the Port of Douala gives the order of GUCE phases if you want to retrace the

full chronology.4. Typical ALC case (no

nvented tariff) A Douala importer contacts us on a Monday: « the 40' has been at the quay since Friday, nobody is taking the container out ». The first impression was a customs hold. Nobody had asked for

he CAMCIS status. Diagnosis in two hours: the declaration was not on the red lane. The BAE had simply not been requested, because THC and the exit pass had not been chained. The customs file was already liquidated. The lever was not to « negotiate Customs »; it w

s to finish pickup. That is exactly the confusion this article aims to avoid. The same symptom (container at the quay) covers three different files. Treating all three as one w

astes the free time.5. Document checklist —

only to lift a hold This list does not replace an Incoterm audit or an HS classification. It is used to lift a hold

lated goods (PECAE) If the hold is a CAMCIS lane, these documents alone are not enough: you need the written reason (value, HS, authorisation). If the hold is a pickup, these documents are often already in order — the lever is then the ter

minal and the truck.6. Act on the number of days, not on

« universal tariff » We do not publish a demurrage price: it varies by line, dry or reefer, and the contract. Publishing an « average » scale would be misleading and dangerous for your cash. The ALC lever since 2017 is to cut the number of days. Method: demurrage, storage, dete

tion + clearance guide. An importer who knows the end date of free time acts. An importer who « waits for it to unblock » suffers the next tier. The difference is not the carrier's tariff; it is

the diagnosis on day one.7. What

• LC Transit does on a hold na
• e the step (tab
• e above); check the fil
• ; read the CAMCIS status; chain payment, exit pass and truck — or switch to customs regularisatio

if the reason is CAMCIS. If the vessel has not yet sailed, correcting at origin remains cheaper: 7 mistakes before shipment. If the vessel is already at sea, go to the

10 mistakes after loading.Freque

ntly asked questions (FAQ)How long does it take to unbl

ck a container in Douala? It depends on the step. A B/L inconsistency can be regularised in 24 to 72 h. A value check takes longer. ALC's first deliverable is the step diagnosis, not a single time

line valid for every file.Is a stuck co

tainer seized by Customs? No. Hold and seizure are distinct. A documentary hold, a CAMCIS lane or a delayed exit pass is not equivalent to a seizur

e. First ask for the step.Who should you contact fi

st at the Port of Douala? Your licensed customs broker, not three administrations at once. That is who reads CAMCIS, the termin

al and the shipping agent.How do you stop

container staying stuck? Prepare the file before berthing. If the vessel has already sailed, read the

0 mistakes after loading. A container at the quay that will not exit? ALC Transit locates the step