Container Detention Charges: When You Cannot Return the Empty

Detention is the one charge on an import that keeps running after the cargo has been delivered. The goods are out, the customer is happy, and the container is still on hire because there is nowhere to put it. Every day the empty sits on a trailer, in a transport yard or in your own driveway, the shipping line keeps billing.

This page is about the empty return leg specifically. If you want the full explanation of how demurrage and detention work, what free time you get and how to keep both at zero, read demurrage and detention explained. Come back here when the problem is that the box will not go back.

When the detention clock actually stops

Detention runs from the day the full container leaves the terminal until the empty is returned and receipted at an empty container park nominated by the shipping line. Three things follow from that, and they catch people out in the same order every time.

• Unpacking the container does not stop the clock. The line is charging you for the equipment, not for the cargo. An empty box in your yard costs exactly the same per day as a full one.
• Arriving at the park does not stop the clock either. The dehire has to be accepted and receipted. A truck turned away at the gate has not returned anything, and the day still counts.
• It has to be the right park. Empties are only accepted at the park the line has nominated for that container. Turning up somewhere convenient does not work, and a redirection to a different park is a decision the line makes, not you.

The free days you get before detention starts, and whether they are counted as calendar days or working days, come from your carrier tariff and the terms on the bill of lading. They are not standard across lines, so check the number that applies to your container rather than the number you remember from the last one.

Why the empty is stuck

Almost every stuck empty in Australia comes down to one of these. Working out which one you have is the difference between a phone call that fixes it and a week of charges.

• No dehire slot. Empty container parks run on booking systems, and slots are released in blocks. In a congested week the next available slot for your line and container type can be days away, not hours.
• The park is full or has stopped accepting that type. Parks cap intake by shipping line and by box type. A park can be open and still be refusing 40ft high cubes for a particular carrier.
• You have been redirected. The line moves the nominated park, sometimes at short notice and sometimes to a facility on the other side of the city. That is extra kilometres and often a new slot queue.
• The container is damaged, or the park says it is. A dehire can be refused or conditionally accepted pending a damage assessment, which stalls the receipt.
• The box is not clean. Residue, packaging, dunnage or contamination left inside will get the return knocked back at the gate.
• Your transport operator has no capacity. Even with a slot, someone has to drive it there. In peak periods the empty runs are the first thing that get bumped for revenue-earning full moves.
• The window closed. Public holidays, weekend closures, industrial action and the Christmas shutdown all compress park capacity while the detention clock keeps running.

What to do today

1. Confirm the actual free-time expiry date. Not the estimate, the date on the tariff for that container. If it has already passed, find out which day rate you are on now, because most lines escalate the daily rate in tiers.
2. Confirm the nominated park in writing. Ask the line to confirm the current nomination and note the time they gave it. If they redirect you later, that record is what supports a waiver request.
3. Get a dehire slot booked, even a bad one. A slot four days out that you can improve on is worth more than no slot. Book it, then work backwards.
4. Check the box is returnable before you send the truck. Empty, swept, no dunnage, no residue, doors closing properly. A futile trip costs you a truck charge and buys you nothing.
5. Ask for a waiver in the same week, not afterwards. Requests made while the container is still out, with dates and slot screenshots attached, land very differently to a dispute raised after the invoice.
6. Escalate past the first person who says no. Front-line customer service usually cannot approve a waiver. Ask who can, and ask in writing.

The charges that are not detention

When the empty return goes wrong, the shipping line invoice is rarely the only one. These land separately, from different suppliers, sometimes weeks later, and they are the reason a stuck empty ends up costing more than people expect.

• Futile or aborted trip fees. Charged by your transport operator when a truck is turned away at the park gate.
• Staging or yard storage. If the empty is dropped at a transport yard while it waits for a slot, that space is billed by the day.
• Redirection costs. Extra distance, a new slot and sometimes a toll or zone difference when the line moves your nominated park.
• Slot cancellation or amendment fees. Charged at some parks when a booking is changed late or missed.
• Cleaning and repair. Recovered from you if the container is returned contaminated or damaged.
• Trailer or chassis hire. If the box is sitting on borrowed equipment, that equipment is on hire too.

Ask your forwarder or transport operator which of these are in play before the container moves, not after. It changes whether waiting for a better slot or paying for a redirection is the cheaper decision.

Making the next container easier

Detention on the empty leg is largely a planning problem, and the planning happens before the vessel arrives rather than after.

• Ask for the nominated empty park at the time of booking, not at delivery. It affects which transport operator you should be using.
• Book the dehire slot at the same time you book the delivery, so the empty run is already in the schedule.
• Give your unpack a hard deadline that leaves at least one clear day inside free time for the return.
• For containers arriving in December and January, treat free time as shorter than it says. Park capacity and transport availability both tighten.
• If you regularly import full containers, ask whether your volume supports negotiated free days on your rate. It is a normal thing to ask for and it costs nothing to raise.

If a hold is what is delaying your unpack in the first place, the underlying problem is upstream. See cargo held by customs or biosecurity holds on imported goods, because clearing that is what stops the detention.

Questions about detention and empty returns

Does detention stop when I unpack the container?

No. Detention is a charge for the use of the shipping line container. It stops when the empty is returned and receipted at the nominated empty container park, not when the cargo comes out.

The park would not accept my container. Do I still get charged?

Yes, the days keep accruing. A refused dehire is exactly the situation to document and raise with the line straight away, with the date, the park, the booking reference and the reason given at the gate.

Can detention be waived?

Sometimes, and it depends on the cause and on how quickly you ask. Lines are more receptive where the delay was on their side, such as a late redirection or a park refusing intake, and far less receptive where the cargo simply sat too long. Ask while the container is still out.

Who is liable for detention if I bought on CIF terms?

Usually the party named as consignee on the bill of lading, which on a CIF import is generally you. The Incoterm decides who arranged and paid for the sea freight; it does not shield the consignee from container detention at destination.

Is detention the same as demurrage?

No. Demurrage applies while the container is still inside the terminal past its free storage time. Detention applies once it has left the terminal and is out on hire until the empty is returned. Both can run on the same container, one after the other. The full comparison is here.

Do weekends and public holidays count?

That depends on your carrier tariff. Some count calendar days, some count working days. It is worth knowing which before you plan an unpack across a long weekend.

Related guides

• Demurrage and detention explained — definitions, free time and how to keep both at zero
• Cargo held by customs in Australia
• Your container has been selected for a biosecurity inspection
• Urgent customs clearance in Australia

Still holding an empty you cannot return?

Send us the container numbers, the port and the park you have been directed to. We will tell you what the realistic options are, including when waiting is cheaper than moving.

Planning an import rather than dealing with a charge? Request a freight quote.