Demurrage management software in Africa: automate calculation, alerts and invoicing
How Surestaria eliminates margin losses caused by forgotten demurrage in African ports — for MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and all other shipping lines.
Every year, African freight forwarders lose tens of thousands of dollars due to demurrage charged by shipping lines but forgotten in re-invoicing to the end client. A 40' container demurrage in Matadi can cost 100 USD/day. Multiply by 30 containers in transit, and you understand the stakes.
What is container demurrage?
Demurrage is the penalty charged by the shipping line when a container exceeds the free time granted at port. It differs from detention, which concerns the container that has left the port but not been returned.
In Africa, free times vary by shipping line and port:
- Matadi (DRC): 7 to 14 days depending on shipping line
- Luanda (Angola): 10 to 15 days
- Douala (Cameroon): 10 to 21 days
- Abidjan (Ivory Coast): 7 to 15 days
- Pointe-Noire (Congo): 10 to 14 days
- Dakar (Senegal): 8 to 14 days
Why freight forwarders lose money on demurrage
Without dedicated software, tracking is done on Excel or WhatsApp. Consequences:
- Free time is exceeded without alert and the shipping line invoices silently
- Demurrage is not re-invoiced to the client (forgotten, lost paperwork)
- Per-shipping-line rates evolve and nobody updates Excel
- The invoicing currency (USD vs CDF, AOA, FCFA) creates conversion errors
How Surestaria solves the problem
1. Automatic overrun detection
As soon as a container exceeds its free time, the system creates a demurrage entry in the dossier, calculated day by day according to the shipping line's rate (MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Cosco, ZIM, ONE, Evergreen, PIL, Grimaldi).
2. Client debit note generation
Surestaria automatically generates a debit note to re-invoice the end client, in USD, EUR, CDF, AOA or FCFA depending on the country, with mention of days and applied rate.
3. Real-time payment tracking
Each demurrage has its own payment cycle. You see at a glance the demurrage charges invoiced, paid, overdue.
4. Demurrage margin report
Dedicated dashboard: demurrage paid to shipping lines vs collected from clients. No more invisible margin leaks.
"Before Surestaria, we were losing 15-20% of margin on un-reinvoiced demurrage. In 3 months, we recovered the equivalent of the annual software cost." — Anonymous testimonial, Matadi forwarder
Compatible with all shipping lines operating in Africa
Surestaria pre-configures the rates of major shipping lines present on African coasts: MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Cosco, ZIM, ONE, Evergreen, PIL, Grimaldi. You can also configure your own rates for regional shipping lines.
Specialized for African ports
- Offline mode for terminals without stable network
- Multi-currency USD/EUR/CDF/AOA (Kwanza)/XAF/XOF (FCFA) with historical rates
- African customs regimes (DGDA in DRC, AGT in Angola, DGD in CI, etc.)
- Configurable workflows per port and per shipping line
- Interface in French, Português, English, Kiswahili
Setup by our team
Surestaria is a professional software installed and configured by our team. We set up the rates, import your reference data, train your employees. Contact us for a personalized demo.