An open lane that most US brokers won't touch.
The Africa lane has a reputation, and it earns parts of it. Port congestion in Lagos. Documentation that differs sharply by country. Customs regimes that shift on short notice. Inland trucking standards that don't match US expectations. Most large US brokers route around it; they take the easy lanes and leave the rest. LASLINT runs the lane on purpose. We've mapped which port to use when Lagos is jammed (Tema clears faster in most months). We've built a customs partnership in each port country instead of treating the continent as one block. And we coordinate the inland leg on the destination side through partners who actually know the road from the port to the refinery or mine.
The freight: heavy industrial equipment (transformers, mining shovels, drilling rigs), construction iron (dozers, excavators, cranes), wind components for the renewables build-out across South and East Africa, refinery and petrochemical cargo for the West African energy corridor, and project cargo for utility and telecoms infrastructure.
This is operated capability, not a brochure claim. LASLINT has handled US→West Africa ocean freight to the Port of Tema (Ghana) and the Port of Lagos (Nigeria)— the two West African gateways we run most. When we say we work these ports, we mean cargo has moved on them.
The departure side is specific too. Africa sailings move via vetted partner forwarders out of four US gateway ports — Brunswick (GA), Jacksonville (FL), Freeport (TX), and Newark (NJ). Brunswick and Jacksonville are major US RoRo (roll-on/roll-off) ports for vehicles and heavy equipment — which is exactly how used construction and mining equipment ships to West Africa. LASLINT trucks the cargo to the gateway on RGN, step-deck, or hotshot, and coordinates the ocean leg with the forwarder — one desk on the whole move.
Seven ports we work — by name.
Each port has its own paperwork, its own customs office, its own typical clear time, and its own inland-trucking standards. We route to the port that fits the cargo and the destination, not the cheapest sea quote.
FCL, break-bulk, RoRo — pick by the cargo.
Three modes cover almost everything that ships to African ports. The decision is geometric and economic — what fits, what costs.
- FCL — Full Container Load20-ft or 40-ft sealed container. Best for dismantled equipment, packed components, smaller machinery, and anything that needs door-to-door integrity. Cheapest per cubic foot when the cargo fits.
- Break-bulkCargo loaded directly onto the vessel deck or in the hold — no container. Required for oversize: transformers, wind blades, structural steel, columns, pre-cast modules. Slower handling, higher per-unit cost, but the only option when the cargo can't containerize.
- RoRo — Roll-on / Roll-offWheeled cargo that drives onto the vessel under its own power or on a trailer. Trucks, tractors, Cat dozers, mining shovels, construction equipment. Faster port handling than break-bulk when it qualifies.
Transit times — port to port.
Sailings vary by carrier, season, and demand. The numbers below are typical port-to-port windows on regular services. Door-to-door adds the inland leg on both sides — for a clean operation that's 7–14 days of additional time.
West Coast US sailings to Africa are uncommon; we route West-Coast freight via the Gulf (Freeport TX) or East-Coast gateways unless the schedule demands otherwise.
The paperwork that actually clears.
Every African port runs its own customs paperwork, and the documentation list shifts country by country. We handle the full pre-clearance pack on every move:
- Commercial invoice and packing list — your manifest of cargo and value
- Bill of lading — issued by the ocean carrier; we coordinate the master B/L
- Certificate of origin — required by most African customs offices
- Pre-shipment inspection certificates — required for Nigeria (SONCAP), Kenya (PVoC), Tanzania (PVoC), and others
- Hazmat declarations — where applicable
- Country-specific certifications — for example, Conformity Assessment for Nigeria, halal for some food categories
We send you the document checklist the day the load is awarded — no guessing, no last-minute scrambles at the port.
Fabricator to refinery — one operator on every leg.
A complete Africa move is four stages stacked end to end. We run all four on a single set of documents and a single named operator:
- US inland trucking. Flatbed, step-deck, or RGN from the fabricator or warehouse to the gateway port — Brunswick (GA), Jacksonville (FL), Freeport (TX), or Newark (NJ). This is the same heavy-haul desk that handles your domestic loads.
- Port-side preparation. Crating, palletization, lashing, hazmat declarations, customs export filing.
- Ocean transit. Coordinated through vetted partner forwarders — FCL, break-bulk, or RoRo on the right vessel for the cargo. Status pushed on milestones — sail, mid-ocean, ETA refinement, arrival.
- Destination inland. Port clearance, customs payment, inland trucking through our country-specific partners. Site delivery confirmed with photo.
Where AI helps an ocean move.
Ocean freight has different bottlenecks than truck. The math problems are vessel scheduling, port congestion forecasting, and customs lead times — and every one of them rewards faster signal. We use AI to front-load the lookups:
- Vessel-schedule matching across carriers — finding the right sail window when the cargo isn't flexible.
- Port-congestion signal — Lagos vs. Tema decision when one is jammed.
- Documentation pre-check — the country-specific paperwork list, surfaced before you submit the quote.
- Status push — milestone events pulled from carrier APIs and pushed to your inbox without anyone calling the carrier.
The dispatcher still books the carrier, negotiates the rate, and runs the relationship. AI just clears the desk of the lookup work — so you get the answer in minutes, not after the call-back queue.
Frequently asked.
Which African ports does LASLINT serve?
Lagos (Tin Can Island, Apapa), Tema, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Durban, Casablanca, and Luanda. We also work secondary ports on a project basis — call dispatch for a port that isn't named here.
Does LASLINT actually do ocean freight to West Africa?
Yes — this is operated capability, not an aspiration. LASLINT has handled US→West Africa ocean freight to the Port of Tema (Ghana) and the Port of Lagos (Nigeria), and quotes the wider list of named African ports on a project basis.
Which US ports do Africa sailings depart from?
Africa sailings depart via vetted partner forwarders out of four US gateway ports: Brunswick (GA), Jacksonville (FL), Freeport (TX), and Newark (NJ). Brunswick and Jacksonville are major US RoRo (roll-on/roll-off) ports for vehicles and heavy equipment — the mode used-equipment exports ship on. LASLINT trucks the cargo to the gateway and coordinates the ocean leg; the partner forwarder handles the sailing.
How long is the ocean transit?
US East Coast to Lagos runs 18–24 days. US Gulf to Lagos runs 24–32 days. East Africa (Mombasa, Dar es Salaam) is 30–40 days from the East Coast. North Africa (Casablanca) is 12–18 days. Door-to-door totals add the inland leg on both sides — typically 7–14 days for a clean port-to-port.
FCL, break-bulk, or RoRo — which do I need?
FCL (full container) for anything that fits in a 20-ft or 40-ft box — dismantled equipment, components, machinery shipping in pieces. Break-bulk for oversize that can't containerize — wind blades, transformers, structural steel. RoRo (roll-on/roll-off) for wheeled equipment that drives onto the vessel — trucks, tractors, mining shovels.
Do you handle customs on both sides?
Yes. Origin-side customs through US-licensed brokers we've worked with for years. Destination-side customs through partners in each port country — Lagos has different paperwork than Casablanca, and we route the customs work to the right desk for each port.
What documentation do you need to start?
For the quote: equipment type or commodity, weight, dimensions, origin city, destination port. For the booking: commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, and any product-specific certifications (hazmat sheets, food safety, etc.). We send you the document checklist when the load is awarded — no guessing.
Can you arrange the inland trucking on both sides?
Yes. US-side trucking is part of our standard heavy-haul operation — flatbed, RGN, or step-deck from the fabricator or warehouse to the port. Destination-side inland (Nigerian roads to a refinery, South African roads to a mine) is handled through trusted port-side partners, with the same milestone-by-milestone tracking as the ocean leg.