🚢 Sea Freight

Sea Freight from China to Umm Qasr

China → Umm Qasr · via BSR air / Umm Qasr sea · clearance by General Commission of Customs, Iraq

Cargo handling on the China–Umm Qasr lane.

For buyers shipping into Umm Qasr, the practical question is not the ocean or flight time but what happens after arrival. Umm Qasr is Iraq's only deep-water port; cargo enters through BSR air / Umm Qasr sea, and allow +1 day for the inland leg on top of clearance.

Clearance itself is handled by General Commission of Customs, Iraq, and typical dwell at the gateway runs 7–15 days.

How this lane actually runs

Umm Qasr is the sea gateway for federal Iraq, while the Kurdistan Region is more often served by air into Erbil or overland from Turkey and Iran. The two administrations apply customs differently, so the destination city changes the process — not just the trucking leg. A pre-shipment Certificate of Conformity is the single most important document on this lane.

Sea gateways used	Umm Qasr
Sea transit, China to gateway	20–30 calendar days
Gateway serving Umm Qasr	BSR air / Umm Qasr sea
Inland leg to Umm Qasr	+1 day from the gateway
Typical clearance / dwell	7–15 days
Peak season to plan around	Sep–Nov

Import duty and tax position for Umm Qasr

General Commission of Customs, Iraq assesses duty and tax on cargo arriving for Umm Qasr consignees. Current regime: Customs duty 0.5–30% plus a reconstruction levy; regional variations apply in the Kurdistan Region, with a de-minimis position of No practical de-minimis.

Conformity is the part most first-time importers underestimate: Certificate of Conformity (COC) issued pre-shipment under the Iraqi conformity programme is mandatory for most goods. Getting this wrong is expensive because it usually cannot be fixed after the cargo has landed.

Restrictions and known friction points for Iraq: A pre-shipment COC is mandatory for most commercial goods; cargo arriving without it faces heavy penalties. Security and route conditions affect inland delivery. Confirm which customs administration applies to the final destination.

Container terminal operations used on the China to Umm Qasr (Iraq) freight lane — Handling on the BSR air / Umm Qasr sea routing serving Umm Qasr.

Before you book: Umm Qasr checklist

Photograph carton markings and seal numbers before departure — it makes any claim far easier to settle.
Plan around the China-side windows too: Chinese New Year and Golden Week both compress capacity on the Iraq lane.
Get the conformity paperwork moving early: Certificate of Conformity (COC) issued pre-shipment under the Iraqi conformity programme is mandatory for most goods.
Confirm the consignee in Umm Qasr can act as importer of record — General Commission of Customs, Iraq will not release cargo to an unregistered party.
Check the de-minimis position (No practical de-minimis) against your invoice value before you decide how to split the shipment.
Declare lithium batteries, magnets, liquids and powders up front — retro-declaring after booking usually means re-planning the whole shipment.

Frequently asked questions

How long does shipping from China to Umm Qasr take?

China to the Iraq gateway is 20–30 calendar days. On top of that, allow 7–15 days of clearance with General Commission of Customs, Iraq and a +1 day inland leg to Umm Qasr.

What duty and tax will I pay importing into Umm Qasr?

General Commission of Customs, Iraq applies: Customs duty 0.5–30% plus a reconstruction levy; regional variations apply in the Kurdistan Region. The de-minimis position is No practical de-minimis. Under a DDP arrangement these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival in Umm Qasr.

How is the chargeable weight calculated for Umm Qasr?

We compare actual gross weight against volumetric weight — length × width × height in centimetres divided by 6000 for air — and bill the greater of the two, rounded up to the next kilogram. Light, bulky cargo is almost always billed on volume.

What documents does General Commission of Customs, Iraq require?

A commercial invoice with HS codes, a packing list, the bill of lading or air waybill, a certificate of origin where it lowers duty, and any product certification (Certificate of Conformity (COC) issued pre-shipment under the Iraqi conformity programme is mandatory for most goods). We prepare and file these as part of the service.

When is the busiest time on the China–Iraq lane?

Space and rates tighten around Sep–Nov, plus the China-side windows of Chinese New Year in January or February and Golden Week in early October. Book one to two weeks earlier in those periods.

Is sea freight cheaper than air freight into Umm Qasr?

Per kilo, yes — usually by a wide margin. The trade-off is time: 20–30 calendar days by sea versus 4–7 business days by air to the Iraq gateway, before clearance and the +1 day inland leg. The crossover point is normally somewhere between 100 and 300 kg depending on the density of your cargo.

Other delivery cities in Iraq

All Iraq freight information →

References & official sources

Duty rates, thresholds and conformity requirements for Iraq change by ministerial decision, sometimes mid-year. The figures on this page are buyer-planning references, not a customs ruling — confirm the current position for your own HS code with General Commission of Customs, Iraq or your broker before you ship.

Page data last reviewed: 8 月 2026.

Shipping by industry

This page covers the route and clearance picture for the destination. Packing, classification and the compliance step that actually holds a shipment depend on what you are sending — these guides cover that by commodity.

All 139 industry guides →

Get a rate for Umm Qasr

This lane is quoted per shipment rather than from a published rate card, because the landed cost depends on the commodity, its density, the conformity requirements above and the delivery point. Send the cargo details and we will come back with a full DDP figure.

Request a quote → See the Iraq route page →

Customs clearance in Iraq

Duty and tax position, certification, typical port dwell and what actually holds shipments at this border — plus who files the entry.

Iraq clearance requirements →