Current Freight Rates
Price data updating. Contact us for current rates.
Trade Terms Explained — Who Pays for What EXW, FOB, CIF, DDP and seven more — see which costs sit with us and which sit with you
The rate above is quoted on one specific trade term. Change the term and you change how much of the journey to Bahrain is already inside the price. The table below maps the eleven common Incoterms® against the twelve cost stages of a door-to-door shipment, so you can see exactly where our responsibility ends and yours begins.
- Seller — Cost and arrangement sit with the seller / shipper.
- Buyer — Cost and arrangement sit with the buyer / consignee.
- Negotiable — Not fixed by the rule — agree it in the contract.
| Term | 1 Loading on truck | 2 Export customs declaration | 3 Carriage to port of export | 4 Unloading at port of export | 5 Loading on vessel / aircraft | 6 Main carriage | 7 Cargo insurance | 8 Unloading at port of import | 9 Loading on truck at import | 10 Carriage to destination | 11 Import customs clearance | 12 Import duties & taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXW Ex Works | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck | Buyer Buyer — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FCA Free Carrier | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FAS Free Alongside Ship | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FOB Free On Board | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CFR Cost and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CPT Carriage Paid To | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU) | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAP Delivered At Place | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DDP Delivered Duty Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Seller Seller — Import customs clearance | Seller Seller — Import duties & taxes |
EXW Ex Works
Buyer takes over at the seller's door and carries every cost from there. Lowest quoted price, highest buyer workload.
FCA Free Carrier
Seller clears the goods for export and hands them to the carrier the buyer nominated.
FAS Free Alongside Ship
Sea and inland waterway only. Seller delivers alongside the vessel; loading is on the buyer.
FOB Free On Board
Sea and inland waterway only. Risk passes once the goods are on board. The most common buying term.
CFR Cost and Freight
Seller pays the main carriage but carries no insurance obligation; risk still passes on loading.
CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight
As CFR, plus the seller must buy and pay for cargo insurance (minimum cover unless you agree more).
CPT Carriage Paid To
Any mode. Seller pays carriage through to the named destination; insurance is not obligatory.
CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid
As CPT, plus the seller must insure the cargo through to the named destination.
DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU)
Seller delivers unloaded at the named terminal. Renamed DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) in Incoterms® 2020.
DAP Delivered At Place
Seller delivers to your address ready for unloading; import clearance and duty stay with the buyer.
DDP Delivered Duty Paid
Seller carries everything through to your door, duty and tax included. Highest quoted price, least buyer workload.
Two things worth flagging. Under CIF and CIP the seller is obliged to buy cargo insurance and pay the premium; under every other term insurance is optional, and we recommend buyers arrange their own cover so a loss or damage in transit is recoverable. And this table is a working summary for planning purposes — the binding definitions are the ones published by the International Chamber of Commerce in the Incoterms® rules, so confirm the exact term wording in your sales contract before you ship.
Service Details
Shanghai → Khalifa Bin Salman Container Shipping
Full-container sea freight from China to Bahrain, Shanghai to Khalifa Bin Salman. A whole box is the right structure once your volume passes roughly 15 CBM, or as soon as the cargo is heavy, oversized or awkward to consolidate with anyone else's — below that threshold LCL usually wins on cost, above it FCL wins on both cost per CBM and handling risk. Transit runs 18–26 days port to port port to port.
Port-to-port means exactly that: the rate ends at the Khalifa Bin Salman terminal gate. Typical dwell at destination runs 2–5 days before the box is available for collection, and that window sits outside the transit figure above. Origin haulage, export declaration, destination clearance, duty and delivery beyond the terminal are all quoted separately, so ask for a door figure if that is what you are comparing against.
Rate on application. We move containers on this lane but do not publish a standing figure for it, and we would rather quote it than print a number we cannot hold. Send us the commodity, box type and required ETD and we will come back with the allocation price.
Rate by Container Type
- 20GP — quoted on request for the current sailing
- 40HQ — quoted on request for the current sailing
The per-kilogram rate above applies to chargeable weight, not to what the scale says. At 166.7 kg per cubic metre, a carton of light goods can be billed at several times its actual weight, so send dimensions with the weight when you ask for a quote into Bahrain — a rate quoted without them is only ever provisional.
In practice the cargo we move on this lane clusters into a few recognisable shapes — laboratory furniture (HS 94), where clearance turns on timber due diligence (EUTR / EUDR) and UK upholstery fire regulations, engineering plastics (HS 39 / 40) and building materials (HS 68 / 69 / 70 / 44). Each behaves differently against the rate: one fills the payload before it fills the space, the next does the reverse, and the packing brief we send back with the quote is written to the one you are actually shipping.
Discharge for Bahrain on this service is at Khalifa Bin Salman Port. Transit time in the rate table is measured to the port, not to the door: the inland days on top depend on which gateway the box clears through and how far inland the delivery address sits.
If your delivery address is inland rather than at the port, the destination guides are the useful read: Manama, Hidd, Muharraq, Khalifa Bin Salman and Isa Town each document their clearing gateway, typical inland transit and local customs behavior, none of which is visible in a rate table. See all Bahrain destinations we cover for the other 1.
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Additional Information
Booking Conditions and Destination Requirements
What you are buying on Shanghai to Khalifa Bin Salman is the ocean leg and nothing else: the box on the vessel, from quay to quay. Pre-carriage in China, clearance into Bahrain, duty and tax, and the final delivery run beyond Khalifa Bin Salman are each priced separately. Ask for the door figure if you want to compare this against a DDP quote, because the two are not the same number.
- Priced per box in USD for 20GP and 40HQ, not per KG or per CBM — utilization is yours to optimize
- Transit 18–26 days port to port port to port on Shanghai to Khalifa Bin Salman, subject to the sailing booked
- Heavy and out-of-gauge cargo is core traffic here: machinery, steel, stone, building materials, project pieces
- Cut-off and free time attach to the specific sailing; demurrage begins the day free time expires
- Reefer, dangerous goods and out-of-gauge are priced case by case rather than from the card
- Clearance at destination is handled by Bahrain Customs Affairs; the consignee must be registered to import
- Destination conformity for Bahrain: Bahrain conformity requirements for regulated goods; Arabic labeling
Two things decide whether an FCL booking runs cleanly. The first is container choice: a 40HQ carries roughly 76 CBM against a 20GP's 33, so where the cargo cubes out rather than weighs out, the bigger box is usually cheaper per unit even though it costs more per booking. The second is documentation — the packing list has to match what is physically inside, because Bahrain Customs Affairs inspects against the declaration rather than against intent.
Paperwork closes more shipments into Bahrain late than freight does. Invoice, packing list and any certificate of origin have to describe the same goods at the same value, and the description has to be specific enough to classify — 'electronic parts' is not a description, it is an invitation to be examined.
Where these numbers come from
Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by Bahrain Customs Affairs against your declared HS code at the time of entry; where the amount is material, verify the current rate through ITC Market Access Map before committing to an order.
Classification drives everything downstream: the same carton can attract very different duty depending on the heading it lands in, and the structure those headings come from is the World Customs Organization Harmonized System. If your product sits near a boundary between two headings, resolve it before shipping rather than at the border.
For ocean cargo, restricted commodities move under the IMO's IMDG Code, and the container has to be declared and stowed accordingly. Batteries, flammables and corrosives all have a compliant ocean path; what causes rolled bookings is finding out about them after the container is packed.
For a wider view of how importing into Bahrain actually works — documentation norms, inspection behavior, the paperwork that tends to hold shipments — the U.S. ITA guide to Bahrain customs regulations is a useful independent read alongside our own lane notes.
China to Bahrain — Shipping Reference Data
| Main sea gateways | Khalifa Bin Salman Port |
|---|---|
| Destination customs authority | Bahrain Customs Affairs |
| De-minimis / duty-free threshold | BHD 300 for personal consignments |
| Import tax & duty regime | VAT 10%; GCC common tariff of 5% on most goods |
| Local currency | BHD |
| Typical clearance / dwell time | 2–5 days |
| Peak / busy season | Sep–Nov |
| Conformity & certification | Bahrain conformity requirements for regulated goods; Arabic labeling |
Thresholds and duty bands are buyer-planning references, not formal customs rulings — confirm the exact HS-code rate for your goods before shipping.
Free 3D Loading Tools for This Sea Route
This page covers a Sea freight service from China to Bahrain. Use the matching tool below to plan your cargo before requesting a quote.
3D Container Loading Planner
Maximize every CBM on this route: load your carton list into the 3D container planner, check space and payload utilization, and download the loading plan for your forwarder.
Open Container Planner →Bahrain Sea Freight Checklist
- Verify the receiver's customs import capability in Bahrain for DDP terms before booking.
- Reserve loading space 5-7 days before the sailing cut-off for this route during peak season.
- Ask whether the quote includes destination port charges in Bahrain or only ocean freight.
- Check pallet vs floor-loading: floor loading typically fits 8-12% more cartons per container.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Sea FCL Port-to-Port from China to Bahrain take?
Sea freight on this route runs about 25–45 calendar days door-to-door, plus roughly 2–5 days of clearance/dwell once it reaches the gateway. All times include customs clearance under DDP terms.
What duties and taxes apply when importing into Bahrain?
Clearance is handled by Bahrain Customs Affairs. The regime is: VAT 10%; GCC common tariff of 5% on most goods, with a de-minimis position of BHD 300 for personal consignments. Under DDP these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival.
What certification is needed to import into Bahrain?
For regulated goods, plan for: Bahrain conformity requirements for regulated goods; Arabic labeling. Missing conformity paperwork is the most common clearance hold with Bahrain Customs Affairs, so confirm requirements for your HS code before shipping.
What does DDP shipping to Bahrain include on this route?
DDP means we quote the freight, the customs entry with Bahrain Customs Affairs and last-mile delivery in Bahrain together, so you settle once. The duty and tax portion depends on your product's HS code, declared value and the exchange rate at entry, so it is confirmed against your actual goods — the figures on this page are indicative and can move either way.
When does capacity tighten on the China–Bahrain lane?
Space and rates tighten around Sep–Nov, plus the China-side windows of Chinese New Year (Jan/Feb) and Golden Week (early Oct). Book 1–2 weeks earlier in these periods.
Can you ship special cargo (batteries, branded goods) to Bahrain?
Yes — battery goods by sea follow UN3480/UN3481 rules with an MSDS; we prepare the dangerous-goods paperwork as part of DDP into Khalifa Bin Salman Port. Surcharges apply.
Inland Delivery Coverage — Bahrain
We deliver beyond the arrival gateway. Each city below has its own destination guide covering the gateway it clears through, typical inland transit time and the local customs picture.
Note — these are reference guides, not quotes. The city pages describe routing, gateways and clearance for each destination. They do not carry rate tables. For pricing to any city listed here, use the rate table on this page or ask us for a quote.
- Khalifa Bin Salman BAH air / Khalifa Bin Salman sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Manama BAH air / Khalifa Bin Salman sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Riffa BAH air / Khalifa Bin Salman sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Muharraq BAH air / Khalifa Bin Salman sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Hidd BAH air / Khalifa Bin Salman sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
- Isa Town BAH air / Khalifa Bin Salman sea inland same day Guide only — no rates
Shipping Bahrain cargo by industry
This rate is for the lane. What decides whether the cargo arrives intact is the commodity — how it prices, how it must be packed and loaded, and which compliance step holds it at the border. These guides cover that per industry.
- Technical Textiles Textiles, Apparel, Footwear & Leather
- Outdoor Products Toys, Sports, Outdoor & Leisure
- Fasteners Metal Products & Industrial Components
- Electric Motors General Machinery & Industrial Equipment
- Wire & Cable New Energy, Power & Electrical
- Wall Panels Building Materials & Construction Products
- Injection Molded Parts Plastics, Rubber & Packaging
- Furniture Furniture & Home Products
- Home Storage Products Furniture & Home Products
- Exhibition Display Equipment Retail, Display & Commercial Fixtures
- Aluminum Coils Steel & Metal Materials
- Pipe Fittings Metal Products & Industrial Components
