Callao: port delays, free time and demurrage
Callao handles most of Peru’s reefer exports on short free-time terms, so anchorage queues and holiday closures convert into demurrage faster here than at almost any comparable gateway.
Measured avg wait
39.7 h
Reporting period 2026-08
P90 wait
83.2 h
Worst-decile vessel in the period
Vessels waiting
399
of 445 observed
Est. daily burn
$1,580,040
Chargeable exposure created per day
Typical free time at Callao
| Demurrage free time (import, at terminal) | 3–5 calendar days |
| Detention free time (equipment, off terminal) | 5 days, often 3 on reefer |
| How days are counted | Calendar days — Peruvian public holidays are usually billed as chargeable. |
| Congestion surcharge stacked per container | $150 during backlog periods |
Indicative ranges from published carrier tariffs and contracts we see at this gateway. Your own service contract governs — check it before counting days. How demurrage and detention are calculated.
What makes charges disputable here
- National holidays and customs strikes routinely qualify as excepted periods under the contract but are rarely credited without a claim.
- Reefer-heavy export flows carry short free time and high per-day rates, so a two-day slip is a five-figure exposure across a single bill of lading.
- Congestion surcharges are stacked per container on top of per-diem during anchorage backlogs.
- Saturated yard through the agro-export peak; Chancay re-routings are shifting published schedules, so free-time clocks start against timestamps the shipper never sees. Reefer plugs oversubscribed and billed at penalty tiers.
Billed demurrage or detention at Callao?
We check every line against your contract, the local tariff and our own dwell record for that voyage, then file the claim. The audit is free and our fee is 20% of what we actually recover.