Almost every freight forwarder will tell you sea freight from the UK to India is "around 30 days." That is the port-to-port number, and it ignores everything before the box leaves Felixstowe and everything after it lands in Nhava Sheva. The honest door-to-door number is 35–45 days.
Here is exactly where the time goes in 2026.
The full sea-freight timeline
Days 1–3: UK collection and consolidation
We collect from your UK address, palletise the cargo at our Slough warehouse, attach the manifest and BL paperwork, and trunk it down to the loading port — usually Felixstowe or Southampton.
Days 4–6: Port handling and vessel cut-off
Containers need to clear UK export controls and meet the vessel cut-off. Miss the cut-off (typically Wednesday at 12:00 for a Friday sail) and the cargo waits a full week.
Days 7–35: At sea
Port-to-port sailing time, by destination:
- Felixstowe → Nhava Sheva (Mumbai): 24–28 days.
- Felixstowe → Mundra: 26–30 days.
- Southampton → Chennai: 30–34 days (via Colombo transhipment).
- Southampton → Kolkata: 32–38 days.
Days 36–40: Indian port arrival and Customs
Once the vessel berths, cargo is offloaded to the CFS (Container Freight Station). Bill of Entry is filed, IGST and duty are paid, KYC is verified, and the shipment is released. This takes 4–7 working days in 2026 — slower around Diwali, faster in February.
Days 41–45: Final-mile delivery
Door delivery from the destination CFS. Tier-1 cities (Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai) are 1–2 days. Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities add 2–5 days.
Where delays come from
- Missed vessel cut-off — adds 7 days.
- Incomplete or wrong KYC (Aadhaar/PAN mismatch) — adds 3–10 days.
- Restricted item flagged by Customs — adds 7–20 days.
- Indian public holidays (Diwali, Holi, Republic Day) — adds 2–5 days.
- Inland strike or port congestion (rare in 2026 but happens) — adds 3–7 days.
When sea is worth the wait
If your shipment is over 100 kg of chargeable weight and you can plan 6 weeks out, sea freight saves 37.5% on the per-kg rate versus air. For a 500 kg shipment that is £750 in your pocket. For 1,000 kg it is £1,500. The maths only fails when you absolutely need it next week.